A Christmas Carol For You
by wing of butterfly
Summary: You will be haunted by three spirits. On this time of rolling year, when life and death intersect, you will be haunted by three spirits. This is your only hope to save your tiny little soul.
1. Chapter Once upon a Christmas Eve

A Christmas Carol For You

1. Once upon a Christmas Eve

_AN: I really don´t own anything from this little literature-attempt, neither characters nor plot. Only my own christmas spirit :D _

_Enjoy this silly Christmas tale _

_Death is our last destination, dark chamber we dread to enter, place where nothing is certain. No one really wants to dissapear forever and sink into that pool of darkness. Loneliness. Dead people are lonely folk and Clovis Marley was now one of them. _

_He was as dead as broken Ipod, far beyond repair. Yes, he was dead, had nice, splendidly short funeral under dark and chilling winter sky ..."And how cheap funeral it was, too" said old clergyman with a sigh when they finally burried him allowing worms to finish their job. _

„_What´s wrong with that?" asked the undertaker and signed the register of Mr. Clovis Marley´s burial. „He´s dead. He surely doesn´t care about such trivia anymore." And faint smile crossed his wrinkled face._

„_Stop this nonsense already. This is a place of mourning, not your little chit-chats." said young man in black suit, that matched his charcoal hair and sent deadly glare to both men. They frowned a little, but only for a short while. Undertaker bursted into laughter and old clergyman almost inaudible chuckled._

„_Mourning? Not a chance, my young lad. It´s Christmas Eve and besides...In fact, I really don´t want to pity this guy´s passing."_

_Clergyman only nodded. „You are his sole mourner, Mr. Lampescrooge."_

„_What are you trying to say? He was great businessman, always responsible, when he was alive nobody from our borrowers ever missed a payment. True is that his many hobbies were a little ehm money-consuming but I can´t really blame him for that."_

_Yes late Mr. Marley was faithful business partner to our very much alive Mr. Lampescrooge. He was also his half-brother, but this fact carried just a little importance in Mr. Lelouch Lampescrooge´s eyes. He never felt anything for his brother, or this is what he truly stubbornly believed. Indeed, he was a splendind businessman, horrible painter, and now dinner for worms, that´s all. His story ends here, fairy-tale is done and Lampescrooge was a bit too certain that he´ll never have to see him again. _

_One year later_

_Once upon a time, on another Christmas Eve, old young Mr. Lampescrooge sat in his office, which he called Counting-house, amethyst eyes stuck on computer screen_ _and there he counted, counted with raising rage his earnings. And costs..."I hate costs. Everything is so expensive, everyone is so greedy nowadays. Damn crisis. Heavens, how I hate this century. Cratchit! Hand me Financial Times, I need to check out our portfolio." _

_He reached his hand towards his employee´s desk in nonchalant and __theatrical manner and waited. No response. __Lelouch__ waited a bit longer. Still no response. _

"_Suzaku__ Cratchit! You are wasting my precious time and moreover my even more precious money!" He stood, chair which he occupied cried in relief, and looked upon his clerk. Suddenly he frowned and bit his lower lip. Young boy, about the same age as Mr. Lampescrooge peacefully slept there, head on his crossed hands, crossed hands on messy papers, messy papers on old desk from secondhand furniture store. __Lelouch__ picked a ruler from his drawer and hit __Suzaku__ on his head with all his might (Cratchit was in fact lucky, because his employer´s might was that of a dying fly). _

"_Wake up, Sleeping Ugly!"_

"_I…I am so sorry, Mr. Lampescrooge I just had a little nap. Last night was pretty rough."_

"_I don´t care about your sex life, I need to do the accounting and I need to finish it until today´s midnight. In the name of __Lelouch__ Ebenezer Lampescrooge I forbid you to sleep!" _

"_For how long?"_

"_Let´s see. What about forever! Now be quiet and continue working, please."_

_Brown-haired youth nodded obediently and wrote down some numbers. After a short while of counting, Suzaku´s fingers started to tremble._

„_Shit another mistake." mumbled he to himself._

„_Saying something, Cratchit?" _

„_No just...cake!"_

„_What?"_

„_I´m really looking forward for my dear Euphemia´s christmas cake. She´s splendind cook. You should try her christmas pudding."_

„_Eh...Humbug!"_

_Then the door opened and tiny cheerful voice filled Lelouch´s silent and calm office-hard- working atmosphere. _

„_A merry Christmas, brother!_

_He rolled his eyes and forced smile appeared on his pale face. Ironically his face looked older and sadder and more pale and more bloodthirsty like before when he was frowning and apparently annoyed. On the other hand his sister´s eyes shone, her cheeks were healthy and red like two apples and she was laughing, laughing merrily. „Christmas lunatic." tought young Mr. Lampescrooge for himself, but said nothing. Instead he crossed his legs and waited for his sister to stop laughing._

„_I´m here to greet you. And Mr. Cratchit too."_

„_Hi then, Nunna. Now if you don´t mind... "_

„_Oh yes I do mind. Why are you always so morose? It´s Christmas Eve, you stupid! You should cheer, sing and dance..."_

„_Why should I rejoyce, my oh so dear sister? I live surrounded by idiots, I cannot depend on anybody, I cannot trust anybody. Christmas? So what? It´s the same damn ordinary day just like yesterday. Do you want to hear about Christmas spirit? Here it is. I´ll tell you. There is a time in the year when all people suddenly lose their minds, make depts in every store they stuck their filthy noses in, run and bump to each other and yell and cry and all this mess just because they want to make others happy. That´s holy calm Christmas spirit for you. There is just one good thing about this Christmas fever. People like me can make a really fine profit. Businessmen, dear sister are the only ones, who are truly happy during Christmas time." _

„_Oh brother, you should go into Parliament with such speeches. But you don´t look very happy."_

„_Don´t I? Say Cratchit...Don´t my face look happy to your pitiful eyes?" _

_Only answer he got was Suzaku´s loud snore, since he fell asleep once again. Nunnaly smiled and tapped her brother on his cheeks. _

„_There, there, don´t be angry and come to dine with us." _

„_No time. I´ll come some other day."_

„_But it´s Christmas Eve!" cried Nunnaly so loud, that she finally woke up Suzaku, who fell out of his also-second-hand-furniture-store-purchased-chair and hurt himself for second time this day.. _

„_I am sorry." Sighed Lelouch and opened his Financial Times on page 24. „**Oh no that EU crisis is becoming deeper day by day. I hope it won´t reach Brittania´s markets. Perhaps I should shorten Cratchit´s salary, just in case**."He was so preoccupied by his dark financial forcasts, that he stopped paying attention to his sister´s talk. After all it was just one big Humbug for him. Nothing more, nothing less._

„_I think I found a love of my life. And...and I want you to see him."_

„_That´s fine." **Hmm Chinese Electronics is facing bankruptcy. They are one of the biggest and most influential companies in mine sector, so...I am sure I can use this in my advantage...somehow. Just think...**_

„_I think he may be my future husband...You have to meet him."_

„_That´s fine." __**Just think...If mine company offers some help to theirs. No I have to be cautious. Maybe I should purchase more gold. Gold always is (or at least always been, since this god-damn days)**_ _**a bird in the hand...**_

„_Well merry Christmas to you, brother. I love you."_

„_That´s fine." _

_Finally the hour of shutting up the office came and both of our hard-working businessmen left home. Suzaku cannot wait to see his beloved wife again and Lelouch cannot wait to eat his dinner soup all alone again**." I hope it´s still edible...after all I cooked it seven days ago. But times are bad, we have to think economically."** _

_He still lived in apartment where he used to live with his deceased partner, but recently he occupied only two dusty dark chambers of once big and sunny place. The rest was hired out to some girl, who never really shows up and Lelouch had a suspicion, that she may be in fact some undercover maffia member. Or just some whore. Even her name was suspicious. C.C. Wtf is that? Maffia indeed. But she payed well, therefore he never complained. _

_So our Mr. Lampescrooge ate his melancholy (and very likely toxic) dinner in his melancholy kitchen, read some management books and books about manipulating people and prepared to bed. Just when he turned off the lights, a horrible noise like scream but much more hoarse and much more pitiful than any other scream he heard before resounded through his apartment. Young Mr. Lampescrooge was rather brave, but let´s be honest and admit that in the very moment that sound started resounding, he tried to hide under his bed. Quite meaningless attempt since his bed had no hiding places beneath it, so he only hit his forehead in the process. _

„_Oh shit, that hurts!" cried he into the dark._

„_Don´t be vulgar, huhuuuu my little brother." said weary voice. Lelouch yelped and this time he tried to hide behind the curtains, but you know one cannot escape from the cold embrace of ghosts. _

„_I know you." said Lelouch, his whole body trembling._

„_Ooof course you do. After all uuhuuu you were the one who killed me." said the ghost, his blonde hair floating in the air, his form almost transparent,in fact young Mr. scrooge could see his bookcase right trough him. _

„_Very nice story, Clovis...You and your wild imagination. We were brothers, weren´t we?" said Lelouch and laughed nervously. „Are you here to haunt me?" _

_Ghost took a little transparent notepad from his transparent pocket and started to browse through it´s transparent pages. _

„_Nope. You aren´t on my schedule for today. I have to haunt uuhuuu one poor family in Congo."_

„_Why Congo? Don´t they have enough problems already?"_

„_Do you feel sympathy, my dear brother?...Uuu I never question my authorities. Uuuhuuu and I never questioned you. You were my brother and despite our love you betrayed me."_

„_Do you have to sound like a ghost?"_

„_Ordersss. And it´s fun."_

„_Cut if out, please." _

„_Tell me then...why did you kill me?"_

_Ghost clinched his fists and suddenly his expression changed. He looked broken, and longing. „Now I have to linger in this world, being nothing more than a memory, mere illusion. Nobody really sees me, only I am here to be a witness of their sorrows. I cannot rest, since I died in vain. Before I could understand, before I could see the sadness I made while living. Sadness you are making. Tell my, why did you condemned me to such a fate?"_

_Lelouch´s cheeks blushed then he wiped a crop of sweat from his brows and said harshly._

„_Y...you made depts. Many of them. Because of your stupid dream to becoming a painter! What did you think? That I´ll let it as it is? You would ruin us!"_

„_I see." Said the ghost __thoughtfully, one finger placed on his lips. _

"_But you were a good businessman."_

_Ghost of his brother and partner laughed bitterly. _

"_I won´t forgive you, but…I don´t have to do so either. You know, we ghosts like to hold a grudge. It´s our last connection to the living world, which was stolen from us. True, it´s a bitter bond, but a bond at least. _

_But today I am here to warn you, little bro. You will be haunted by three spirits. On this time of rolling year, when life and death intersect, you will be haunted by three spirits. This is your only hope to save your tiny little soul. You don´t want to end up like me, don't you? Chained to this world by your sins…This holy night you´ll be haunted by three spirits. I loved you, brother. You know, ghosts like to say such a things before leaving. I love you, Goodbye, Farewell, Don't forget et cetera. Remember what has passed betweeen us. And I really loved you. Perhaps it´s not a lie. Perhaps ghosts cannot lie." _

_Dark-haired boy shook his head. He was speechless. After so many years when he always knew what to say, after so many years of words-mastership, he was left totally speechless. Ghost vanished like a mist above the chimney, leaving behind intoxicating scent of freshly used oil paints. _

"_Humbug. Perhaps I really shouldn´t eat that soup." said Lelouch shortly before he fainted, falling on his bed with a loud thud. _


	2. Chapter I Heard The Spirits Laugh

_**II.**_

_**I Heard The Spirits Laugh On Christmas Day**_

_AN: Just in case: Thoughts of various characters are written in __**bold **_

_Marry Christmas again _

_Everything is changeable. Even past is changeable, life is nothing more than a floating dream and all things we believe in are just shapeless fragments of our consciousness. Dream within a dream, name of this world is Change, name of this universe - Motion, name of our god - Self-Destructive Irony._

_People are dying, clouds are moving, rivers run dry…everything is changeable, everything but the future foretold by ghost. _

_I'm dreaming of a white Christmas  
>Just like the ones I used to know<br>Where the shopwindows glisten and children listen  
>To hear Santa singing on Oprah´s show<br>_

_Lelouch awoke and opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the pitch blackness of holy night. It was so dark, that he couldn´t really distinguish his desk from sleeping crocodile ready to bite off his leg. „Oh my head. Damned poisonous vegetables...And now this bothersome song...Now is my migraine even worse and my last pills I had to give to that stupid Cratchit, because –sir-you-hit-me-with-a-ruler-therefore-you-have-to-offer-me-a-suitable-compensation-for-being-unable-to-satisfy-my-woman-this-night-since-my-head-and-ass (because of your sister)-are-in-pain...Next time, I´ll fire him!" _

_Mr. Lampescrooge opened his window covered with icing and decorated by frosty flowers and peeked out. What he witnessed with his two eyes, made his already miserable mood even more miserable (if possible). _

_Four little girl scouts, standing under his window and singing this let´s call it christmas carol about beautiful white Christmas of the youth..._

„_It´s already pass midnight, shorties! Why are you squealing under my window! I have a head-ache. What have I done to deserve this kind of punishment! Get out and go home!"_

„_We cannot go home, sir!" yelled one of the girls, the one holding small money-box._

„_We are collecting some bucks for charity, good sir." added another girl with a hopeful smile. Lelouch´s features hardened, then his fingers squeezed the wood-worm-eaten windowsill, as he was desperately and unsuccessfully trying to stay calm. _

„_**Calm down, Lelouch. calm down. They are just a bunch of kids. They cannot harm you. Have no axes, no crowbars to make a real robbery, but...they may buy them with the money they´ve already received." **_

_He laughed quite maniacally (he´ve been practicing this Joker´s type of laugh since he saw the movie The Dark Knight some time ago and found it pretty cool)._

„_I am not a sir, neither good one, so fuck off, brats!" _

„_It´s a Grinch! Mummy!Run! „Save the money!" He´s gonna eat our brains!" _

_Lelouch closed the window and fell on his bed again, feeling pretty exhausted. He started to drift off, when suddenly somebody´s cold finger touched his cheek. Lelouch awoke, slightly angry, because he always hated to be bothered while sleeping, and found himself face to face with a strange yet very familiar figure. Long dark hair, wide welcoming smile, a little naughty shine in violet gaze, long and slender limbs..._

„_Not this ghostly bullshit again!" moaned Lelouch and covered his head with the largest pillow. „Go away Mother. I´m 66°% sure, that I haven´t murdered you." Lelouch muted voice echoed through the dark chamber like a breeze of fear and anxiety. _

„_I am not your mother." _

„_Therefore you are her identical twin, because you two look suspiciously similar to each other." _

„_Have a better look and you´ll understand who I really am." answered stranger. _

_Lelouch uncovered his face (frankly only his eyes were seen, like two big burning marshmellows rusty with doubts) and forced himself to examine this strange apparation. It was his mother and in the same time it also wasn´t his mother. She wore a pure white tunic with sparkling punk-like belt (his mother hated white clothing – I´d never wear something so trivial and boring! – and talking about music she preferred latino), she held fresh holy in her right hand (his real mother was allergic to holy as well as to peanuts, honey and paper-work) and more importantly her feet were bare (Lelouch´s mother Marianne loved shoes, she had a collection of more than 500 pairs and was rather fond of them. When Lelouch borrowed one of them, because he wanted to keep some snake eggs until they hatch in there, she almost killed him with frying pan). _

„_See? I am not your Mother. I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. Specifically your Christmas Past. Therefore I borrowed your dear Mum´s appearance. To not scare you." Her voice was soft, softer than Marriane´s and as she spoke her lips hardly moved. Apparation indeed. _

„_Nice try." Lelouch threw away his pillow and folded his arms. „What brings you here?"_

„_You already know. Don´t ask and come with me."said Spirit and reached her hand towards Lelouch. _

„_Yes, sure and it snows in Africa..."_

„_Well there are high mountains where..."_

„_If you haven´t noticed it´s winter...freeze and cold, baby...nothing can force me to leave this warm place."_

_Spirit chuckled. „You are funny. Your apartment is already as cold as a fish ass. There´s nobody to warm you up, when you´re cold, or...?"_

„_Radiator can..."_

„_You didn´t pay bills."_

„_Expensive."_

„_Love is cheapest value in existence, sometimes easy to give, sometimes difficult to obtain. Everyone can afford it, but so few tried to win the price."_

„_Shut up. I´m coming, I´m coming!"_

_Lelouch rose from his bed, Spirit grasped his stretched hand and guided him towards his huge but almost empty wardrobe. She opened it and pushed startled youth in. Her touch was gentle, but firm and a bit harsh (we can afford to call it even motherly), something one couln´t really fight against. Spirits are hard to resist. _

_Young Mr. Lampesrooge rubbed his eyes when the inside of his wardrobe started to fade and dissapear...clothes turned into dusty grey snow, shoes into rotten ash, ties and socks into monochrome confetti and suddenly there was no wardrobe anymore. They stood in beautiful room decorated with christmas holy, ivy and mistletoe, noble yet simple living-room with wreaths on marble-topped tables, poinsettias on carved cabinets, red and snow-white candles, bells and angels, snowballs and garlands and christmas stockings above the cozy fireplace. _

„_Where are we? Narnia?" asked Lelouch with astonishment. _

„_I am surprised. Have you already forgotten?"_

„_Mum, Lelouch ate too much candy! I bet he won´t eat the dinner, again! Just like last year!" shouted sweet girlish voice somewhere from behind them. Lelouch just now realised how crowded, full of people this cozy and warm room is. People...no they weren´t real people. Only shadows of faces, that once have lived, ghosts of Christmas, that once have been. So familiar and yet so distant. His lip trembled a bit._

„_This is...our living-room and this occasion...our last Christmas as a family. It was...it was a bit strange. All of us together. Father´s children from his first marriage, kids from his numerous affairs and us. "_

„_Yes, a year later your mother died."observed the Spirit. _

„_S...so what?" said he with shaking voice. „It´s just a past. Old photograph that should be ripped and burnt...and forgotten. Past shouldn´t haunt people like this."_

„_Watch and speak not! And don´t worry. They cannot see us, have no consciousness of us."_

_And so he watched, watched and observed with trembling body and just a little watery eyes._

„_Lelouch now you have to sing a christmas song. You broke the rule 1: Never eat sweets before the dinner." said young boy with long blonde hair and laughed. (**Clovis, that pitiful poor excuse of a painter, damn him.**) Lelouch´s younger self pouted and shyly refused._

„_But you have such a cute voice, big brother." _

„_Nunnaly."_

„_Sing for me. I want to hear you singing." _

„_Well..okay. But only for you." _

_Little Lelouch put down his fork and knife and started to sing. Real Mr. Lampescrooge, 19years old honorable adult, covered his ears in a sudden attack of horror and panic. He just wished to run away and find some tiny, dark, quiet place where he could finally die in peace._

„_Don´t want to hear. Don´t want to hear." But he couldn´t do anything to prevent that horrible voice of his late self, coming and filling his senses with humiliation. It came, a storm from his own past, raping his heart and tempting his soul. _

_Chestnuts roasting on an open fire  
>Jack Frost nipping at your nose<br>Yuletide carols being sung by a choir  
>And folks dressed up like Eskimos<br>_

_His own childlike voice faded into nothingness and when it stopped entirely, Lelouch opened his eyes a bit confused. His family vanished, his old home dissapeared, surroundings changed, only christmas atmosphere remained. _

„_What now?" _

„_Another Christmas." Spirit in his mother´s skin waved her hand and smiled kindly. „You sure remember this place."_

_Sure he did. His classroom at Ashford Academy, with its walls and desks full of hand-made garlands and bows, with a little christmas tree a bit lifelessly standing near the blackboard. It was small and dry, its branches literally cried under the weight of colourful christmas balls, but not a soul from the group of young people gathered around it seemed to notice. They laughed, drank hot grog and ate some crippled cookies, which looked like something pulled out of the dumpster. Christmas of two years ago._

„_...I think...I had eno..." said Lelouch from the past with some difficulty. _

„_You are apparently drunk."said the Spirit with a happy face (now she looked more like his real mother). _

„_Of course I am...or was...oh...I am so confused...who I really am? Perhaps...what if all of this is just a dream...?"_

„_What if life itself is just a dream?" _

„_Not this again."_

„_I agree. Your younger self looks more entertaining...Let´s see what´s gonna happen."_

„_...of course you don´t! Come on! Just one more toast! Long live...eh" blonde president of student council, miss Milly Ashford looked around in confusion. „...what? Brittania?" asked short brown-haired girl with huge Harry-Potter-like glasses and the expression of old withered spinster. _

„_Pfffff." _

„_Saying something Kallen?" asked Milly addressing her question to frowning blue-eyed girl, eating gingerbread from one of the paper plates. _

„_...nope. What about Nippon?" _

„_Are you crazy?" _

„_Long live emperor Arthur!" yelled past-Lelouch and stroked the fur of rather fat cat, which lied, fast asleep on his crossed legs. Everyone _burst into laughter_._

„_Okay, that´s fair." said the girl sitting right under the tree branches. Her light red hair danced and crawled between christmas tree needles, like tiny fairy threads guided by some magical pupeteer. _

„_Cool. Shirley´s right." agreed a boy with messy blue hair and raised his glass, and after few sips huge naughty grin appeared on his face. „I´ve brought a mistletoe. Let´s have some fun..." _

„_I don´t remember this." Said present-Lelouch with puzzled look. „ Damn Milly, she assured me there was no alcohol in that bowl.."_

„_I´m starting to love my job." Smiled the Spirit merrily and continued to watch and listen and observe the past, while shivering Lelouch stood obediently beside her._

„_I call this game Catch a Mistletoe. If you catch it, you gain the right to kiss anybody you want. But..." pointed out the blue-haired boy with serious face. „..you have to catch him or her too. Your potential victim can run away... It won´t be easy."_

„_Rivalz, you are little sick pervert, but I love you. You´re my man, man...I´ll w...write a Brief...vieleBriefe to you, pal ... aafter we gradute.." _

„_Lelouch, stop hugging me!" _

_So they played and smiled and tripped and fell and run and drunk even more and ate again, and kissed and kissed and in the end they were all so tired, that they only lied there on the floor and laughed._

_._

„_You look happy, Mr. Lampescrooge." said the spirit to present-_Lelouch_. _

„_Of course I look happy, I am drunk, you moron!" _

„_I have to kiss, Shirley! I forgot." said past-Lelouch with sad expression and threw a glance at red-haired girl. _

„_How could you forget to try to win a kiss from your own girlfriend?" asked Kallen with a gasp and hit him on his head. „Go and apologize!"_

„_You´re Krraralen Kraken. Off I go."_

„__Lelouch_..."_

„_Wh..at?" _

„ _You are kissing a janitor."_

_(**That´s the most wonderful time of my year** – thought janitor and allowed the nice present be simply nice present). _

_Spirit waved her hand again, her white robes shone like a sun, making Lelouch blind for a while. When he regained his sight again, his old classroom and old classmates were gone, buried in their coffin made of memories, under the soil of oblivion, and he found himself standing in his cold dark apartment. Ding Dong... rang the bells of nearby church, counting time, counting ages, counting eras, counting something that cannot be regained, that cannot be seized, that cannot be explained. So all we can to do is...never stop to count. For humankind to remain sane, we have to create something out of nothing, to give a form to shapeless...counting ages, counting time, counting illusions, counting dreams..._

_Two hours after midnight...Five hours until the dawn, five hours with Spirits of all Christmasses... _

„_A smallest things are able to make humans most happy. A kiss, a smile, a hug...Isn´t this what you really wish for?" said the Spirit. _

„_And humiliation of human race makes Spirits happy." answered Lelouch bitterly, but then he smiled. Strange feeling. He wanted to cry and laugh in the same time, tears of happiness and tears of regret blended together, both equally strong and equally confusing and equally beautiful. He didn´t know what to do, so he put his hands in his pockets, as if searching for something. Then he blushed._

„_What are you looking for?" asked the Spirit of Past curiously._

„_Nothing...Just...But it´s too late. I...probably should have given some money to that girl scouts this night." admitted young Mr. Lampescrooge with a sad smile. The Spirit nodded. _

„_You´re right."_

„_What?"_

„_It is late now."_


	3. Chapter Oh Christmas Shower

_**III. O Christmas Shower **_

_Truth is futile, all those thoughts about truth are like fights with windmills, truth doesn´t have any meaning anymore, it´s dead for so many years, that not even bones are left to bury. There is only myth, hundred times rewritten, hundred times refilled legend.  
>Truth is now nothing more than a lie and illusion, which became custom and accepted by many.<em>

_But don´t worry, there are still some facts left in Santa´s stockings, you just have to remove all that coal and rotten potatoes to find it, resting on the bottom, just like hope sleeps hidden under the lid of Pandora´s box._

_Fact 1. – ghosts may in fact be real things and they lurk around during wonderful Christmas time_

_Fact 2. - ghosts may in fact be real things and they lurk around during wonderful Christmas time, in case you suffer by food poisoning _

_Fact 3. – you suffer by food poisoning because of that odd flavoured soup, cooked in ancient-times-you-can-hardly-recall..._

_And the result is: go to hospital before you´ll start to chat with your furniture and have vision too real to be just imaginations. But because Lelouch was open-minded person (free of all prejudices, he hated all equally), he had to admit possibility of complete (at least physical) health...But in that case, elementary logic forces us to say: Spirits are real. _

„_**This is just too confusing. Why do I always have to thing that much? OK, I know, I´m overworked, I need a whole day-long break**."_

_Ding dong...Before the peal of bells could descend back into nothingness, ghost of Christmas Past vanished in a flash of light. Her black hair returned to darkness, from which they once arose, and her piercing violet gaze suddenly turned into blinking television screen. Oh, thank you gods for that old familiar sight! Lelouch watched it for a while, totally absentmindedly with his eyes wide open and his brain in a state of mashed potato._

„_Now take your mother-in-law´s prosthesis crush it with your biggest and most heavy _rolldough, then combine it with used braces of your grown-up children (remember dear watchers how I advised you to never waste? Wasting a good promising material is a great sin against humankind, remember, my dears…), here and there, and woala, drums please…you have beautiful Christmas star to put on your tree. Fancy isn´t it?"

_Woman with glowing white teeth and glowing white hair smiled victoriously. Her unseen audience _praised her with applause_, __Lelouch__ also heard few people screaming words like "Bravo!" and "Magnificent"! or" Buy me some used braces, honey…"_

"_And now let´s see what we can do with used joints collected from the streets, empty sardine-canes, orange peels, and just a little spark of imagination…." _

"_Turn it off! For goodness sake, turn it off!" cried his consciousness desperately. _

_Lelouch turned his-torture-causing-devise-off and scratched his head. She really left. It was strange, but he felt a bit (though he would never admit it out loud) abandoned. Without the proper ghostly parting words," Marianne" was gone, only the smell of roasting chestnuts remained, filling Lelouch´s dark and cold room with warm fragrance of his past. _

„_What a relief!" he yelled, perhaps too loud (partly because he wanted to disrupt his sudden solitude and partly because he really felt relieved). Few minutes later he heard screetch of doors opening somewhere above his head, followed by grumpy shriek._

„_Shut up! I want to have a nice little romantic moment with my own body, you punk!"_

_There it was, _Lelouch_´s morose mood returned from its short trip to oblivion and he shouted in response. „So go and fuck yourself, Mr. __Griswold!"_

_„I am trying!"_

_„Shut up, both of you! It´s Christmas I want to masturbate too!"_

_Lelouch muttered a curse (with his eyes again in their bloodthirsty- narrow-mode), this time he scratched his neck (**Hell...so sweaty...need a shower**) and stepped into small bathroom, which was in fact his brother´s former cupboard. It still smelled of his paints, oil, acrylic, watercolour...crazy mixture of old dried scents and old dead dreams. Some things are just too heavy and too hard to get rid of…and sometimes window opened for ages and cleaners too much used, are not enough to erase them._

_Our brave hero tried to turn on the light, but then he remembered...the last light bulb exploded month ago during one of his numerous failed attempts to save money. Since then he had to shower, clean his teeth and do the other hygiene-oriented-necessities in pitch darkness (even the candles and matches are expensive today)._

„_I really don´t care." said Lelouch to himself and closed the bathroom doors. „I mean..." he continued while undressing. „...who needs light in bathroom?" He threw away his pants. „Only some narcisisst." his thin body slid into the shower. „And I´m certainly not narcissistic "and then he drew the plastic shower curtain. _

_Spray of water, that collided with his skin, was cold too cold far too cold to be called pleasant, but Lelouch was used to it. A bit more satisfied Mr. Lampescrooge was beginning to win back his mental stability, and few moments ago he felt (how to put it) almost happy, so he started to sing with his smooth bass-baritone the first thing that crossed his mind... _

_Hey, get your car washed today  
>Fill up and you don't have to pay (<strong>that sounds like heaven choir to my ears<strong>)  
>Hey, get your car washed today<br>Fill it up, right away  
>Work at the car wash<br>Sharks in the water make they jaws lock  
>When I swim through the grim I'm too hot<br>Y'all can make your bets, y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch_

_Then his voice faded…atmosphere around him changed, he couldn´t explain it how or when or why, he just felt it. That uneasiness, growing __uncertainty__. __ Icy water, freezing like the air outside, full of falling snowflakes...unnerving darkness, which was interrupted by nothing but traffic-lights..._ _intermittent music coming from someone´s broken radio...wet curtain moving in light breeze...memory of the Ghost, that vanished from his apartment just few minutes ago...all this made young Mr. Lampescrooge irritated. _

_First irritated, later a bit nervous... and then soft steps running through cracky stone tiles. Lelouch inhaled sharply while being taken with a violent fit of trembling. _

_A crippled shadow, dark silhouette with gracious moves... reflected on the surface of his curtain like a picture from some wicked shadow-play. Cold droplets of water stopped caressing his skin with their icicle touches...shadowy figure reach out its hand...hand, that was holding something between its unnaturally curved fingers, holding something...something suspiciously similar to huge kitchen knife... Lelouch gulped._

„_**This is it, Lelouch...now you are going to die just the way you were born. Wet, naked and screaming like that freaked out woman from Psycho." **_

_But he was unable to even open his mouth, therefore screaming was out of question, so the whole yelling-like-terrified-whore-thing happened only in his mind. _

_Strange hand pushed the curtains aside...and then brilliant lively green light similar to grass reflection on the river surface scared out all the darkness, all shadows disappeared, all fears fade away (well almost all fears). „Need to save my honor, have to protect my innocence (as if there was any left to protect)...everything, please..."he looked around, but there was nothing, really nothing that he could use as a cover and shield. _

_But the girl standing in front of him didn´t really care, her whole attention was focused on piece of pizza stucked between her fingers, as if it was most precious thing in the world. No knife, no murder intentions, just a piece of smelly junk food, that he bought two days ago, and a girl, who probably haven´t eaten for centuries. _

„_We are behind our schedule." she said with monotone voice, as it was totally normal to rush into someone´s bathroom, observe them during their well-earned shower and then eat in from of them. _

„_Why are you naked?" she asked again when she got no answer. _

„_Why are you watching?"_

„_You do like to answer other people´s questions with another bunch of answers, don´tcha? OK then I´ll wait outside." _

„_Splendid news."_

_When our dear Mr. Lampescrooge put on his oldest and most worn-out pyjamas, and walked out the bathroom, he found that strange girl sitting on this bed, waiting for him. Just now he realised how similar is her face and figure to that maffia maniac renter, he almost never seen (there was also no real reason to meet with her, chat with her, even greet her, she was just a renter for crying out loud!). But still... both had same long green-dyed hair, sad and tired expression drawn upon their faces, bored gaze of piercing clear eyes._

_Both looked more dead than alive, two corpses, which move and talk and breathe just out of habit... no...more likely like a pair of china-dolls abandoned by their owners, years and years ago, toys, rotting from inside, though their porcelain faces cursed them with eternal beauty and eternal life. _

_She slightly nodded as if she was reassuring herself and said. "I see, that you are prepared for our little journey**.**"**(„Yes this is what you say to someone dressed in pyjamas."**) She stood up._

„_I think, that you´ve already figured out who I am. No need to play formal."_

"_But I like to play formal…"_

"_Ts if we spirits were formal you´ll die from fear. Okay than, tell me who I am?"_

„_Another ghost concerned with my well-being…" _

„_Bingo...But you are wrong with that well-being thing. I just do what I have to do. I don´t wanna be fired (**„Fired = Cratchit, that lazy hamster")**. I am the Ghost of Christmas Present, born today with a rising sun and I´ll have to die very soon. So we have to hurry...but." she bit another piece of pizza and chewed it up and something vaguely similar to smile appeared on her face. _

„_This tastes wonderful."_

„_That´s just not-very-fresh anchovy pizza with cheese. Geez."_

„_But you hate an...chovies." _

„_Yes, but it was very good offer." _

„_So what? You didn´t even touch it. You should buy something you like. Youu areee wasting moneyy! Shame on yoooouuu huuu…" she said in Clovis´s ghostly fashion. _

„_Don´t try to scare me with common sense! I have plenty of it! I am embodied common sense with IQ 151."_

_She laughed sardonically and it was the most horrible laugh Lelouch ever heard (he really had no clue how terrible his own laugh was), so unfitting...she looks subtile and fragile in her green mantle, bordered with grey fur and in the same time dangerous like a snake hidden in the grass prepared and willing to bite. Elegant poisonous cobra. _

„_You are adorable. Hahaha. I am almost sad, that I have to die so soon. Common sense haha and you? Yes, you may be smart, but haha" She choked and coughed a little. „...you don´t undestand a thing. In fact you are dumb." _

„_So Spirit, if that´s all conduct me where you want to." _

„_Ph, I don´t wanna, I have to." she sighed, stood up and said with her voice and face, bored and lifeless once again." Touch my robes, and try not to ruin it…" Lelouch submissively did as he was told, as if it was the most natural thing to him, to do as he was told. _

_Their surroundings changed once again, his room melted in the warm green light shining from within the girl´s body, everything turned into blurry mixture of shade and verdant-colored fire. The whole Lelouch´s world turned into a bursting, vibrating emerald-green merry-go-round, unstoppable sickening rollercoaster, shaking, moving and spinning 4D cinema…upside-down and down-upside…and then all over again. _

„_Where are we? What…what´s happening? I want to go out!" _

„_In a realm of living, ever-changing Present...just wait a little longer."_

"_I cannot wait I´m gonna be sick!"_

"_Try not to, control yourself…"_

"_This is it…I´m going out! I am fed up of this carousel Rocky Horror Picture Show. Have a nice trip, honey…" Lelouch stepped a little forward, but then the spiral of ever-changing Present halted, he tripped over his own foot, but miraculously haven´t ended up lying on the floor. Instead his nose bumped against some hard glass surface with a loud cracking noise and he cried out cursing and gasping, holding his face..._

"_Great. You broke my nose, you witch" (Actually he intended to call her bitch, but the sudden impact left him a bit distracted). _

"_Your fault…And don´t worry. It´s just an illusion, after you´ve touched a ghost-super-magical-mantel you´ve became one of us… Nothing can harm you now, not even old food with ridiculous taste…So you are perfectly in shape. Though you could exercise more…_

_I see no muscles…" _

"_There are…"_

"_Don´t lie. I have roentgen sight, and I see just skin, bones and a just a little amount of flesh…"_

"_What?"_

_She smiled. "Do not fret. I am just a Spirit of Christmas Present, I live just for today and soon I´ll return home. I won´t tell anybody about your tiny little meaningless secrets. Come…"_

_So he followed and they went on, invisible, as they always been, through some transparent glass surface, which opened before they could do or say anything, right into the murmur and chaos of Christmas decorated shopping mall. _

_Tall Christmas trees, with their branches covered with fake snow and fake icicles, lights, that looked cheap and fancy in the same time, Santas and elves and reindeers (all of them made of plastic or stone or glass) standing like eternal guards before each store, bells and garlands hanging from the high, almost- never-ending-ceiling… fake snowflakes, warm and dry, elegantly floating in the air, created with some help from newest technologies and engineering. _

_Elevator doors closed behind them with a marry jingle, leaving them standing in the middle of stifling crowd._

_Rocking around the Christmas tree  
>At the Christmas party hop<br>Mistletoe hung where you can see  
>Every couple tries to stop<br>Rocking around the Christmas tree,  
>Let the Christmas spirit ring<br>Later we'll have some pumpkin pie  
>And we'll do some caroling.<span>" <span>blared the merry Christmas carol from nearby music-store. _

"_But…this is our mall! Evian Shopping Park. I haven´t been here for years. Since…"_

"_Since Shirley dumped you…"_

"_Exactly. And there is that trash-can she knocked me out with…hey! It was me, who dumped her!" _

_Spirit laughed with that venomous laugh and then she sat down on one of the snow-covered benches, looking suddenly tired and sick…_

"_No just remember." she said and when he didn´t say a word, she continued with fading voice._

"_Once upon a time, there lived a boy and a girl. They loved each other and where quite happy together, kissing, hugging, having sex time to time...Oh yes, this walls remember everything, don´t blush, Mr. Lampescrooge…" she smiled. "I can hear the benches whisper, the cans, the trash repeat this old story all over again, they are sad, they are crying sentimentally, since that boy and girl aren´t in love anymore…Things really are stupid, having no brain and such, don´t you agree, __Lelouch__? Listen to what they have to say:_

**_"I do it all just for you."" said the boy blaming his girlfriend with his hurt expression." You deserve happy life. Poor people cannot achieve real happiness, cannot gain power, their voices remain unheard, they stories untold. Imagine every history record, Shirley. Only big, wealthy, powerful men achieved success, meant something. Did you ever read biography of same famous beggar? I doubt it. Please listen to me...Understand! I want to make you happy, truly happy. Because of you I have to work so hard."_**

**" _I…I…I" answered the girl, anger hidden under the surface of her tired speech. "In fact it´s just all about you…I want…I wish…I think…I do…You never listen to other people… You believed, that this is the real happiness?" cried the girl." Then I cannot share it with you! I don´ t want to be just a second or third or even fourth most important thing in your life, I want to be your support, not your burden. Money cannot ensure us happiness."_**

**"_Look who is selfish now." said the boy __sarcastically..._**

**_Then the girl cursed the boy, sending him to deepest Hell and knocked him out with trash-can..."_**

„_Okay, okay...It was all my fault. I get it..." interrupted Lelouch her small monologue. _

**"_And then the boy was sooo depressed that he drank here whole night, trying to forget Shirley´s crying face."_**

_Lelouch smiled wearily and continued her story. "And everything, he actually remembers is, that he argued with extremely hairy Moses and horny Elmo under the Brooklyn Bridge…and woke up in mall children corner two days after." Wide smile illuminated Spirit´s lips, this time more serene one and less scary._

"_My two brothers…"_

"_What?"_

"_That Moses and Elmo…"_

"_Those were Spirits? I thought that my drunken mind turned those children plushies into living beings, which scolded me, called me a moron and tried to rape me. I hate your family…"_

"_My dear Charlie-Drunky and Yeltsin…hahaha…"_

"_Okay, I understand…"_

„_Barely...But let´s move we have to find him..."claimed the Spirit and stood up. She looked healthier than those few minutes ago, but still very weak, black circles, which appeared under her glowing, clear eyes, were still there. _

„_Who?"_

_Ghost of Christmas Present didn´t pay attention to him, looking around as if she was searching for someone´s old familiar face. _

"_There he is...!" _

"_Cratchit!" _

_It was indeed his dear lazy employee, Suzaku Cratchit disguised as very thin and young Santa, wearing horrible sloppy beard and ridiculous hat ornated with jingle-bells and hollies. He was sitting on an oversized throne-like chair surrounded by young, almost naked, ladies in elven-costumes and just now he was holding a little boy on his knees carefully listening to that child´s Christmas wishes. Mr. Lampescrooge and Spirit approached him. Young Mr. Lelouch laughed like crazy, but Ghost kept her silence._

"_What´s the meaning of this? What is he doing? A charity? How stupid… Hahaha…" _

"_You shouldn´t judge others so fast…"_

"_I d….haha I don't judge…I say facts…" _

"_Now, now, my little fellow. What do you wish for Christmas?"_

"_I want new I-pad, new X-box console, games for X-box, because my old ones are already boring...then I want Air Guitar, Robosapien V2, Nintendo Wii…and dalmatian puppy…" _

_Suzaku blinked in surprise…"That´s a lot of stuff, my little friend. What about world peace?"_

"_Screw world, Santa…I want my Robosapien!" _

"_What about nice mum and kind dad?"_

"_Mother! cried the boy and jumped off Suzaku´s knees._

"_What´s up, pumpkin?" _

"_Santa´s psycho! And I think he touched my private parts…"_

"_What have you done to my little honey-belly, you old freak!" roared boy´s mother, hit Suzaku two times with her purse and then she and her little prince left. _

"_That's Cratchit for you…everybody wants to hit him. Face suitable for a fist…" whispered Lelouch to Spirit, though whispering wasn´t really needed, since both were merely ghosts traveling through dimensions, invisible, unheard…. _

_Suddenly some young woman with a bunch of pink-colored hair run right through them and kneeled beside a bit puzzled Cratchit. _

"_Who is she?" asked Lelouch curiously._

"_You don´t know young Mrs. Cratchit?"_

"_No…I´ve never met her…but I remember that Cratchit asked me about a year ago if I allow him to put some photos of his wife on our work-table. Of course I refused. I cannot tolerate any distractions."_

"_Oh no dear, are you hurt? Suzaku, honey…say something…" cried young woman, tears filling her eyes._

„_Am all fight...just...hid my my, that...big wig fing on...me...neck."_

"_Oh no, not your poor head again. Come on…you don´t have to work anymore. I came here to pick you up…" she helped him on his feet, though after that she looked quite exhausted. She shivered as if suffering from sudden fever attack, but when her husband gazed upon her suspiciously she forced herself into generous smile._

"_U kay, Ufi? No…no need to com…" complained he with some talk-difficulties. _

"_Psst…have a rest. I also have to buy a turkey for Christmas dinner…" _

_Suzaku blushed and squeezed his wife´s hand sympathetically. „Turkeys are expensive. We cannot afford them."_

_Euphemia Cratchit smiled and kissed him. „So what? Since I have you, I don´t care...we can buy chicken and pretend it´s turkey." _

„_Euphie, I am sorry." _

„_You stupid. No need to feel any remorse...You work hard. Even this part-time job...How could I blame you...?"_

_She touched his hand, their fingers interlocked (Oh, hands of lovers are like lock and key, am I right, Lelouch?" „No you´re not. Put down those pink glasses, already.") like dozens of small fragile flower stems and the couple walked away, towards the grocery shop._

„_They seems to be happy, but why cannot they afford to buy turkey?"_

„_You don´t know? So let´s follow them then..."_

_And so they followed them, two invisible, floating spirits of Christmas time. _

* * *

><p>Some referencies<p>

Car wash - by Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott from Shark Tale movie

Rocky Horror Picture Show - Movie adaptation of british rock musical stageplay

Evian Shopping Park – just corrupted version of a name of real shopping mall Avion Shopping Park

Special thanks go to:

sir Alfred Hitchock

madame Martha Streward

supposed writer of Bible, monsieur Moses

Elmo, honorable resident of Sesame Street

former chief of the Russian Federation, Mr. Boris Yeltsin

director of this show: master of pen Charles Dickens

and the cheerful crew of CG


	4. Chapter Kallen, The Red Haired Reindeer

_**IV. Kallen, The Red Haired Reindeer**_

_After the state of maniacal laughter, you´ll realize that life is nothing more than bunch of weird, twisted, crazy events, which gain their purposes, meanings and causes just because of your numerous hard attempts to figure out wtf is going on. This colourful mental asylum called Life doesn´t make a sense, but at least it´s a hell of a ride…_

_Mr. Lampescrooge still lived in a stage of psychotic horselaugh with slight symptoms of pot-overdose and with just little hints of –I-smell-the-spirit-of-understanding._

_Lelouch and Spirit followed the other pair around the grocery store, young Mrs. Cratchit chattered something about christmas baking, while her husband were nodding politely apparently totally distracted, with his head somewhere near stratosphere. Never-ending Christmas music endowed Euphemia´s high-pitched voice with whole new quality of oddness. _

"_I feel like watching some weird Disney movie with cartoon chinchillas"claimed Lelouch. _

"_Chinchillas are cute." responded the Spirit (her speech sounded like irony, but her face talked otherwise, she was actually smiling). "Cute stuffed toys…" _

"_They stink." _

"_Didn´t you know, Lelouch, that human species is the most ehm scented one in entire animal realm?" _

"_What do you mean? You yourself smell like old oily fish, or rather like some crazy woman with tons of cats and no personal life…"_

"_How nice…I believe, that someone should beat you with a trash-can sooner"…)._

_After a while of walking and talking rubbish, they reached cooling boxes with frozen poultry and other deeply frozen foodstuff like pizzas (Spirit couldn´t take her eyes off them), meatballs, various vegetables, fish, jam filled dumplings, (c´mon everybody knows what they keep in there…), then __unexpectedly something big, brown (with antlers?) jumped from underneath the nearby standing Santa´s sleigh decoration and cried few inarticulate sentences. __Lelouch__ was sure that the last one word he´ve heard was "MONEY" and he suffered by sudden symptoms of double nervous breakdown ("Hyperventilating already, __Lelouch__? "Just leave me alone…"). _

_Euphemia yelled in fear and shock, her ear-drums tearing shriek made people around run away in panic, then she hid behind Suzaku and said, stricken with horror._

"_Suzaku! Protect me with your life or you´ll have to face the consequences!" _

"_Yes, my princess!" Brave Mr. Cratchit, hero in not-so-shining-armor leaped at some poor little kid…"I´ll borrow this, kiddo." took his plastic lightsaber and attacked that big brown horn-headed animal, which was in fact just someone in reindeer costume…_

"_Die, you monster! How dare you scare my lady! Here take this you rabid stag!" and he smashed and slammed and hit and struck, he fought like a real man indeed…until, the big fluffy head fell on the ground…"Hey, stop it, you dumb-ass! It hurts!" _

_And then there was no scary reindeer anymore, just a tall girl with hair made of fire, dressed in tight brown costume, furry boots and gloves made from the same black fur, her big blue eyes were literally burning with rage. _

"_What do you thing you´re doing?"_

"_You…you scared my wife…"_

"_I don´t care if some girly girl pissed her pants. You totally ruined my costume and moreover you ruined my job here." she started to play with her false tail, which was quite threatening_

"_Wait I know you!" (Wait I know her!") said our two boys (one visible and one invisible) unisono. _

"_Oh, you´re mental health is on its usual level of non-existence again…"said the Ghost of Christmas Present emotionlessly."_

"_Don´t try to be funny, grotesque is dead…"_

"_So, you know her?" asked the Spirit, while observing some frozen pepperoni pizza with rape-face-expression._

"_Yes, that´s Kallen… she´s a crazy bully, total tomboy with no class. She dragged me by hair at kindergarten, then she shoved me around at pre-school, and if I remember well she gave me her deadly daily headlocks at elementary school with delight, she made fun of my old glasses, stole my pocket-money, ate my sandwiches, replaced my school panorama project for broken toilet seat…and…I really want to forget about high school… "_

"_She likes you…"_

"_She hates me."_

"_That´s the same thing. I want this one." said Spirit and pointed her finger at seafood pizza._

"_Its frozen. You can´t eat it."_

"_Wanna bet?"_

"_Not really."_

"_Don ´t try to change the subject!" yelled Kallen collecting her belongings, which she accidentally dropped few seconds before Suzaku´s fierce attack. "...You´ll pay for this."_

"_I am sorry for this mess."_

"_Well, you should be." sighed the girl and sit down on Santa´s sleigh with depressed look upon her face. _

"_Kallen, if I remember well." said Suzaku and stretch his hand towards sitting reindeer-girl. She shook it, maybe a bit roughly that she would under different circumstances. _

"_I am Mr. Lampescrooge´s employee, Suzaku Cratchit. And this is my wife, Euphemia." Mrs. Cratchit nodded, but kept her distance. _

"_You know __Lelouch__? That stupid mad selfish possessive dumb money-oriented power-thirsty arrogant cruel workaholic gloomy merciless moody rude wicked piece of shit? "she recited this long line of insults within less than a second, without a pause to even catch some breath. _

"_Sounds like him." admitted Suzaku with sad smile._

_Lelouch__ invisibly blushed. Suddenly he really felt like piece of shit, his throat tightening, a thud echoing somewhere behind his collar bone, __tight feeling in his chest__, his stomach twisted as if he had eaten something living and aggressive… _

"_What´s happening to me?" asked he, worries vibrating within his voice, and then he sat down on the floor, feeling suddenly very dizzy. The mall´s ground was cold and wet and also slippery, the store staff washed it few moments ago, but he didn´t feel it, it was more like sitting on sandy beach during warm summer night. Lelouch even heard the sound of distant ocean waves slowly and carefully caressing invisible benches. (Does everything to Spirits look and feel like sand and water? Sound and air?) _

_He clinched his fists, nails ripping the insides of his palms, but there was no blood to leak out, no wounds to appear and to heal afterwards. Nothing. Mr. Lampescrooge was mere an illusion and illusions are made of water and sand, they are offsprings created out of the bond between the sound and air._

"_What´s that? Am I dying? I can´t…I still have some plans to fulfill! And there are open pickles in my fridge, I have to take care of them…! And what about my __Rhododendron, someone has to water it, if I´ll, if I´ll have to...What´s happening to me?"_

"_Emotions, I believe. Don´t be such a scared cat. In your case, shame, I suppose. Wait I have a manual somewhere in my robes…"_

_Spirit picked a little book out of her shapeless green mantle and started to browse through its fragile pages. _

"_What are you doing anyway?" asked Suzaku conversionally, apparently distracting her._

"_You mean inside that stupid costume?" _

"_Yes, that…"_

"_Well I am working for my brother´s WVVF (War and violence victims foundation). So I am trying to collect money here. Or at least I´ve been trying to. Until you came…" she rubbed her face with clinched fists. _

"_Here take this." Said Suzaku and passed her a bunch of bills. _

"_But that´s all you have! All I gave to you!" cried __Lelouch__ in utter disbelief. "What about your Christmas dinner? Turkey, remember? Foooood, you moron!"_

"_I don´t care if my table won´t be full of food, drinks and stuff." claimed Suzaku as if answering to __Lelouch´s__ supernatural nagging and continued with a wide ("Stupid") smile._

" _Some people are more needy than us, aren´t they Euphie?"_

"_That´s right. Take them, good soul. This world needs more people like you." _

_Kallen finally smiled and put their donation into a huge Santa-like sack hidden beneath the sleigh seats. Then she turned back to them._

"_Don´t you want to join our Christmas dinner party? Be my guests at Miss Lampescrooge´s party."_

"_My sister and party?"_

"_She invited you too, but you were too busy wasting your time with counting and playing big boss." Answered the ghost and then she stopped browsing through her worms-eaten-time-beaten-handbook: __**Every Thing You Always Wanted to Know About Humans (and sex) But Were Afraid (and not very eager) to Ask. **_

„_As I though, shame, here, look..." Spirit´s bright eyes darkened as if covered with invisible moss, her face turned from porcelain-pale into horrifying-grey, she fell on her knees and buried her face into Lelouch´s chest. _

"_What are you doing."_

"_Siii-n-uture."_

"_What?" he didn´t know what to do (last time when he tried to comfort someone, he ended up with monocle, broken ribs and concussion in hospital), so he just rubbed her back. _

"_I see the future." she explained more clearly. _

"_How can you? I thought you are the Ghost of Christmas Present."_

"_Present is child of Past and mother of the Future. Everything´s happening here and now, though no one really understands where this Here is, or when this Now occurs. And I see him." she whispered to his pyjamas. _

"_Him…you mean Cratchit?"_

"_Yes and I see his eyes. He cried so many tears, that he forgot how to cry, he forgot how to smile, he even forgot why he cried, or why he should smile. It´s Christmas again, the same music, same decoration, same lights and cheer, but he isn´t the same person you know. Hateful, though there´s no one to be directly blamed for his loss. Sorrowful, though from her death many months have already passed."_

_Lelouch pushed her away…_

"_She´s going to die? Why?"_

"_She´s ill and without the proper expensive medical treatment she´ll die for sure."_

"_Do something. Help her." _

"_I am just a Spirit. I can bless people, but I cannot change their fate. If the course of their lives won´t change she will be dead within few months." _

_They stood up, Lelouch very very confused and very very unsure. Ghost of Christmas Present calmed down and her eyes were as bright as they used to be and then she threw her almost entire upper body into a cooling box. Future was veiled once more, hidden beneath the surface of floating time, waiting to be seen again, waiting for its time to arise. _

"_What now?" he asked._

"_Do you want to see more?" _

"_Well I want to see Kallen´s ass more. Quite cute under those tight pants." Spirit slapped him with three packs of frozen pizza._

"_Don´t behave like hormone-driven teenager and help mi steal those pizzas." _

"_I though that we cannot touch things." _

"_There are exceptions. Like…" she threw another packs of pizza on her already falling pile…"Food break."_

_When they were leaving (__Lelouch´s__ arms protested under the weight of tumbling pizza-pyramids), Spirit started to sing with her monotone emotionless voice, moody Christmas carol vibrating through the mall´s air, and despite her tone, she sounded more satisfied and happy than ever before. _

"_You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,  
>Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen.,<br>But do you recall  
>The most famous reindeer of all?<em>

_Kallen the Red-Haired Reindeer_  
><em>Had a very sexy pose,<em>  
><em>And if you ever saw her,<em>  
><em>You could even say she glows.<em>

_All of the other reindeer_  
><em>Used to laugh and call her names;<em>  
><em>They never let poor Kallen<em>  
><em>Join in any reindeer games.<em>

_Then one foggy Christmas Eve,_  
><em>Lelouch came to say:<em>  
><em>Kallen with your hair so bright,<em>  
><em>Won't you be my knight tonight?"<em>

_Then how the reindeers loved her_  
><em>As they shouted out with glee,<em>  
><em>Kallen the Red-Haired Reindeer,<em>  
><em>You'll go down in history."<em>


	5. Chapter Her Last Christmas

_**5. Her Last Christmas **_

_AN: After some baking (I hope my vanilla crescents won´t burn), exercise (don´t wanna look like Santa´s little big sister after holidays), and Simpsons-watching (they always can make miracles with my mood) I can finally continue…Omfg those people living just across the street already have christmas tree, ready and set, isn´t that a bit early? Well I´m not judgemental type, so let live and let die also let celebrate…_

_So shine brief light of my table-lamp, life is but a walking shadow a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more, puppet of muses, toy of imagination (Shakespeare was really a wordsmith, though I like his Hamlet more than above cited Macbeth). _

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><p><em>Christmas atmosphere is magical, it brings to us cheer side by side with frustration and both these extremes wrapped in the same package. Time of spirituality as well as season of overacted materialism, beauty blended together with fake cliché, happy faces mixed with stressed ones ("I indebted myself just to make my family joyful for this short time of year, though I´ve never actually paid attention to them until now" "Life is too short, you should never stop, let´s buy and buy" Hurry" "We have to hurry home, I forgot my pot pies in oven…again." "Let´s stop and enjoy ourselves, snow is falling, it´s so beautiful"… and so on. Total animal farm, anthill of organized chaos, rainbow-colored social laboratory under deepening grey sky. <em>

_Armfuls of snowflakes were dancing in the air, a strengthening wind played with them mercilessly…the city outside the shopping mall looked strange, almost unreal ("What is real, I have to ask. We? Or this city? Or nothing, at all?" "Don´t ask, Lelouch and you´ll remain psychologically stable. More or less…"), like a expressionism art-piece, where stores and buildings, people and cars passing by their unstoppable figures, flashing traffic lights and shimmering Christmas lights, were noting more than short-lived momentary feelings of an unknown artist, abruptly wrapping his face in a scarf knitted of upcoming storm. _

_Snow gathered faster and faster. Sudden thunder rolled in the distance and seeing through the worsening tempest was becoming more and more difficult. _

"_Ouch watch your steps you heavy meat-bag. That was my foot!"_

"_Sorry, dear Mr. Lampescrooge, but my sight is also a bit limited, coz of this unpleasant weather… I am just a spirit, not a god…"_

"_Perhaps you´ve eaten too much frozen (I cannot believe, she actually did that) pizzas, Lady Brain-freeze. Anyway what if we´ll lose them in this snow and this damned crowd of airheads?" asked Lelouch and rubbed his temples. **He hated crowded places, since that time, when his father accidentally left him behind during re-opening of local amusement park and went home without him, because he didn´t want to miss that-day´s lottery-announcement. Inconceivable idea… so he left his 6-years old son in front of the swordfish-exhibition (highlight of park´s week program) and hurried home.**_

„_**Turn the TV on, honey...I feel it, today is my day! For sure.. I found four-leaf clover lying on the pavement, take a look, Mari…" **_

„_**Charles, tell me … where…is our child?" asked Marianne.**_

"_**Don´t worry, dear, Lelouch is here…I won´t never...wait…wha…what the heck, where´s that kid?**_

„_**I won´t repeat my question…I´ll rather kill you! You did it again!" shouted Marianne and punched him with a clinched fist with all her might (unlike her son, her punches were known as painful and potentially murderous). **_

"_**This never happen before…" cried Charles, holding his now-weird-shaped-jaw. **_

"_**Oh yes it did. Miranda told me, that when poor little Claudie was in the same age as our dear little boy, you left her in museum and she had to stay there all night until someone noticed her! You left your own daughter sleep with dead mummified Egyptians, you jerk! Get up and bring me back my child or I´ll divorce!"**_

"_**Noooo I´ll … be right back with…I really cannot afford to lose you, dear."**_

"_**Ts. You cannot afford to pay more aliments…how many children do you have?"**_

"_**I lost my count after fifth…" **_

"_**Get out, you womanizer and don´t dare to come back without my dear little cuddle muffin." And she literally kicked him out of the house. So there was no other choice for poor Charles…he was forced to miss his lottery and search for his son until midnight…Just to find him on the exactly same place, where he left him, lying on the floor and sleeping.**_

"_**Sorry, kid. Here have an icecream…oh sorry it melted already…wait I have some bonbons in my pocket…Here take them. Nom nom…" and he tried to stuff Lelouch´s mouth with sticky mass of perhaps-former-bonbons.**_

"_**I´ll never fogive you. I´ll make you pay for this, geezer…"**_

"_**There there, don´t be mad. It´s me your daddy."**_

"_**Drop dead."**_

…_**." and since then their ride home turned into silent inferno, and this is why you hate crowds and it also explains why you suffer those head-aches…" **_

"_Thanks for making me remember roots of my suffering…"_

"_No problem, and don´t worry we cannot lose them. We´ll follow their life-trajectories, see?"_

_Asked the Spirit and pointed her finger at three large moving tracks, one dark-green, other one with the color of pink candies, and the last one consisted of pure burning fire. "Every living being has its unique life-trajectory…"_

"_It´s something like ecological footprint? How does mine track look like?" _

"_You can´t see your own trajectory… But…" Spirit narrowed her eyes and looked behind him. "… it´s very very dark purple, almost black."_

"_What does that mean? It´s wrong?" _

"_Not really. Just …" she stopped, reached out her open palm, and let few snowflakes fall through her stretched fingers…"Beware of that black…Too much black color may be more harmful than helpful…Many people have their tracks black and I´m here to assure you, that only those really really unhappy ones share this destiny. And it was their own deeds, what turned their souls and life-tracks black."_

"_Humbu…"_

"_Don´t say that word."_

"_Why? It´s my trademark."_

"_Find better one."_

_They followed three tracks, like three living rivers down the streets, around the corners, but even after an hour of walking, they weren´t able to reach them._

"_Those three really went far." claimed the Spirit and halted for awhile. She looked exhausted, black bags under her eyes darkening. _

"_I don´t like this tracking idea. It´s like Big Brother Sees You."_

"_Yes and he knew what you did last summer." _

"_I worked. What else should young, smart, attractive man do during summer break?" _

" _I don´t know." the Ghost, who looked more like tired little girl now, pretended hard thinking. "Having fun?" _

"_I cannot afford that…When all my dear bros and sisters left the country one by one, I was the only one capable to replace my father in his business. Saying: "Little brother call anytime, when you´ll need our help." As if. Talk is cheap." Lelouch´s eyes suddenly widened and his face turned into the color of heavy tanned tomato._

"_Talking about blood relations and cheap crap, what in the name of Mother Goose is THIS?" _

_He paused in front of huge moving advertising poster, portraying well-build young man in his 30ties with styled short blonde hair, blue eyes, a bit devilish smile upon his curled lips. He looked mischievous, yet charming, though his teeth were too white and shiny to be considered natural. Lelouch read the poster in disbelief. _

_ADIDAS…NEW FRAGRANCE…SMELL THE POWER OF VICTORY…COLOGNE SCHNEIZEL._

"_My freaky old brother and Adidas ad? How?"_

"_At least you can finally tell Santa what you wish for Christmas most of all. Fragrance ala Schneizel." chuckled the Ghost with daredevil sparks in her piercing eyes._

"_I wish to shut up your cake-hole. As if someone would like to smell like Mr. Perfect. Do you know that he eats four onions a day?" his four stretched fingers flew to the air, right under her nose. "See, four…? One, two, three, four, remember, Spirit? That´s simply too many onions."_

_Spirit of Christmas past rolled her eyes._

"_You are really lost case."_

_Then two young women emerged from the raging snow-tempest and paused in front of the poster, one of them, the one with clown-like makeup and botox stuffed lips, walked right through Lelouch´s invisible right side. Not so very comfortable experience, really. _

"_Hey, that troll touched my ass!" _

"_She couldn´t be able to do that." _

"_I felt it." _

"_You know that saying. What old hag dreamed for, old hag got."_

"_Are you implying, that I´m old?" _

_The other woman dressed in fluffy fox-fur coat and huge sun-glasses (although there was no signs of shining sun), heavily sighed. "Mr. Schneizel is so hot. I wish my man was as cool as him." ("Did she just say that my brother is cool? Isn´t she wearing beer goggles instead of sun-glasses?" "Let her live, Lelouch." "Easy to say. How can one tolerate stupidity?" "I can easily put up with you.")_

"_I heard that he prefers men." Said the fur-woman sadly._

"_Too bad, but I still love him." And so they left, gossiping and laughing hysterically. _

"_Cheesy crap. Since when is my brother so popular? What is this Crazyman´s Wonderland? If I remember well he played for some third-class rugby team." _

"_So return from that Wonderland, Alice before you´ll lose your pretty head. That was ten years ago. Your brother is a celebrity now. You should be happy for him."_

"_I am sad for myself." _

_Ghost sighed, gathered some strength in her slowly but steadily deceasing body (she felt it, her time of departure was near, everybody and Ghosts are no exceptions can sense the proximity of death) and guided her prey further through the turbulent, sometimes growing, sometimes calming storm. _

_When they finally caught up with the ends of three life-tracks, big Christmas party of Miss Nunally Lampescrooge have already begun. They were late. Always late… at least the storm has already passed, leaving the world clear, somewhat innocent and serene. _

"_Well, this is a place suited for my sister… quite peaceful."_

"_Your sister always had good tastes."_

"_The best ones. She´s my sister after all." Lelouch smiled proudly._

"_Lucky girl." _

_This time Lelouch wasn´t really sure if her words were meant as irony, but he was too afraid (no, he was too prudent) to ask, so he let it be. He looked at his sister´s house instead, examining each brick, each windowsill, each flowerpot…Little cottage at the end of long alley looking like a cabin from fairytale, a house for fairy-godmother and her band of fairies, was all alight, its only chimney-top wrapped up in snow blanket. Soft yellow light illuminating small windows, simple evergreen and dark-red wreath hanging on the front-door and the names Nunally Lampescrooge and Rolo Haliburton written on the mailbox, _crafted by someone´s skilled hands into the shape of birdhouse_. _

"_So this is my sister´s home?"_

"_She moved, so she could live with her boyfriend."_

"_I want to...want to…"_

"_Learn how to speak?"_

"_Stop teasing me, Spirit…I want…"_

"_What? Go inside?"_

"_Just look...I don´t want to…" he bowed his head. "Ruin their fun." _

"_Don´t be silly martyr and walk through the wall. Step inside, don´t be afraid all the time. You know how they say it: Faint heart never won fair lady. And besides they cannot see you, your feelings have no effect here, you can move through this time without limitations." _

"_Now I feel almighty." _

"_Go in!" _

_And so our almighty Mr. Lampescrooge did. And he almost immediately regretted it, since he found himself standing right in the body of his so-unworthy-and-utterly-stupid employee Suzaku Cratchit, who was still dressed in that ridiculous Santa´s costume. He sat behind the table right under the window, gorging himself with roast turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. _

"_Have I possessed him? Perhaps… if I´ll do this." _

_Then he whispered. "Suzaku this is me, your better self. Listen. Get naked…now." _

_Cratchit´s body moved, but before he could do anything "improper" his wife shot him a suspicious side-glance and asked._

„_Are you al right, teddy? You´re eyes are kinda red." Cratchit jumped, awkward grin appeared on his face… Lelouch´s spiritual body escaped from him and his momentarily influence broke. _

"_I…I am okay, don´t worry, princess. I´m just digesting that turkey."_

"_Oh, that food is so delicious, Miss Lampescrooge."_

"_Call me Nunnaly..." _

"_Hey let´s pull Christmas crackers!" _

"_Not know, Rivalz! We are eating! And you are supposed to be student of law?" _

_Lelouch just know realized how many people Nunnaly invited…how many people he knew, she invited, how many people, he liked to spend time with, she invited…_

_Kallen and Shirley (for some unknown reason upset, looking at the plate full of eggplants with broken expression), Rivalz and Milly, and Nina (somehow distracted, trying to stick napkin on her fork)even his older sister Cornelia (she actually became an Egyptologist due to her fatal museum experience) and his famous celeb-bro Schneizel, all of them gathered around one round table(**"Everybody loves democracy these days, even home-designers…"**), and there was a boy with curly brown hair, sitting next to his little sister. Wait…he sat a little to near to his sister. _

"_Now I´m stuffed." Rivalz throw his fork and knife on an empty plate._

"_It was soo delicious, Nunna when did you learn to cook so well?" asked Milly, wiping her lips with a golden napkin. Everything in Nunnaly´s and Rolo´s living room matched, everything was gold and red, with a little deep green tones. _

"_I had to." Answered Nunnaly ""When Lelouch …"_

"_Lelouch!" cried Shirley and covered her face with a table-cloth, some plates fell on the carpet. "I´ll never forgive him." she mused as if only to herself. "He hurt me. I loved him and he was never able to see it…"_

"_Uu she´s still angry." said the Ghost, who just walked through the opposite wall. _

"_Are you kidding? She´s furious."_

"_Even these eggplants! These damn eggplants!"_

"_What´s wrong with them? Rotten?" asked Rivalz puzzled, carefully spiting out few bits of said purple vegetable, before he could swallow them. _

"_Use your brain, Rivalz." whispered Milly. "Their remind her of Lelouch´s eyes." _

"_I never knew his eyes were eggplants."_

"_Men." Sighed Cornelia and crossed her arms. _

"_Problems with men, dear sister?" asked Schneizel, teasing her._

"_I want to have some fun. Ideas?" _

"_Milly, you are the one creative." said Kallen (as well as Cratchit she kept her reindeer costume). _

"_I have an idea…" spoke Nina with scared voice, as if she couldn´t believe that she actually talked. In front of all those people. How bold. _

"_I thought she´s mute." remarked Schneizel. _

"_I heard worse thing about this one." sighed Cornelia and blew out the nearest candle. _

"_Did you know…" she lowered her voice, that only her brothers (real as well as not-so-sure-if-I-am-real) heard it. "She worked for Science Academy, engineering department, until…"dramatic gap. "until she was caught abusing library. And not the people, I´m telling you, not people…" _

"_Don´t tell me…" _

"_Yes, dear brother, your suspicions are correct."_

"_I´ll never visit that library. And I doubt that I´ll be able to touch any book ever again." Schneizel shivered in disgust. _

"_Tell us, Nina." _

"_Oh, okay, Kallen. I…where I grew up we…we were foretelling from melted wax during Christmas time. To see our future husband´s career."_

"_That´s sounds like fun."_

_Nunally stood up, picking up empty plates and leftovers. "Rolo, bring some new candles, please. We´re going to need tons of wax to make our guests satisfied." then she laughed. _

_Brown haired boy nodded, stroked her hair lightly and walked away towards big cupboard, decorated with green and bloody-red garlands._

"_I can´t watch anymore." said Lelouch "I want to be with them, but…I can´t. I can´t. I just want to leave now." _

"_Yes, it´s time." agreed the Ghost with a strange smile._

_Shirley´s curious voice was the last thing they heard._

"_Hey, what do you think is this?"_

"_Dunno. Looks like a man´s balls. This looks like me."_

"_Rivalz! Overrestimating ourselves again, aren´t we?" _

"_Miss Ashford, you are mean. That´s why I love you so much…"_

…_.they voices vanished, sudden void consumed them, the world tumbled, skies fell, reality meant nothing more than a dream and dream turned into ever-moving unstoppable silver drape made of water and wind. _

"_Where are we?" _

"_This is farewell." _

"_Farewell is a place?"_

"_There is a place for everything. In the illusion, in the middle of a dream. But allow me to…" _

_She wrapped her arms around him and whispered. "Take along a part of you. I really enjoyed your company…Goodbye, Mr. Lampescrooge and don´t be…afraid of the Future."_

_There, buried in his cold uneasy embrace she started to shine and shake as if her body consisted of myriads and thousands of little fireflies with dozens of emerald-green lanterns trying to escape from their prison called ever-changing never-stopping Present. Break free! Break free! They cried. Those pleas for freedom tore Lelouch´s ears, he tried to push her away, but before he could think up some useful escape-strategy, she kissed him. Desperately, painfully, he felt her teeth hurting his lips, he felt her tongue bidding him farewell. He caught her by arm, but there was no Ghost-girl anymore , only breezes were left behind, wind and air and myriads of flying fireflies with emerald-green lanterns, fading, melting away in a plain white palette of dreams, taking along a part of him… _


	6. Chapter Swamp Night

**_6. Swamp Night_**

_AN: I want to say thanks to all the people, who became readers of this story. Thank you for you time and for your patience as well. _

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><p>„<em>Paradise is a state of mind, state of blessed ignorance, which rules people´s lives, until someone or something came to ruin their cherished eden into scattered pitiful pieces. They were happy living there, but this paradise was also their prison, humans were locked there, couldn´t go out, because they didn´t even know that there exists something like OUTSIDE WORLD. <em>

_Blessed ignorance, naive stupidity, stagnation of mind, that is paradise, you know that. And the price you all had to pay for freedom was horror and fear. With mind, with knowledge comes horror, hand in hand with tears and sorrow. But in the end it´s sorrow that gives meaning to real happiness. The most wise ones are the most sad ones, they hearts are broken since they are able to see what remains unseen to others, but on the contrary they may be in the end the happiest ones. Yes, life isn´t any paradise, but damn, you should be thankful, that it isn´t. In that case where would the meaning be? But we all wish, that you at least try to understand...Dummy..."_

_This is just the outline of Spirit´s thoughts, which crossed her mind, while her body was decaying, turning into thousand little winged lights, and each of this light possessed its own mind, its own wisdom, and its own body and its own thoughts. _

„_Great, my first kiss after two years of total celibate and there you are...It had to be a bunch of creepy green insects. Tell me something about butterflies in stomach...Shitty shimmering, careless lights..." murmured Lelouch to himself (from some mysteriously absurd reason he felt dumped and abandoned and this mere fact was good enough to make him feel like total loser), watching little emerald lanterns disappearing into the void of final Goodbye. _

„_I want to go back." sighed Mr. Lampescrooge and looked skyward. Then he winked... once, twice, and after he wanted to wink third time, silver mist, falling from the sky embraced him into its cold freezing arms. There he saw nothing, just crystal clear fog. And in that overwhelming silverness, music was heard, mysterious erratic sound, coming from broken, years unplayed vinyl record. It was like listening to running waters of a stream, or to a slowly cascading waterfall. _

"_Day after day, alone on a hill,  
>The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still<br>But nobody wants to know him,  
>They can see he's just a fool<br>And he never gives an answer. _

_And nobody seems to like him,  
>They can tell what he wants to do<br>And he never shows his feelings.  
>But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down<br>And the eyes in his head see the world spinning round"_

_Then after loud cracking noise, the melancholic song turned into another joyful Christmas carol, and the silver fog started to lift up. _

_Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh  
>Over the fields we go, laughing all the way;<br>Bells on bob-tail ring, making spirits bright  
>What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight<br>_

_And as all that snowy silver mists vanished, Lelouch found himself standing on a very edge of some dark forest. Black trees stood there ominous and tall, their trunks were thick and branches almost bare, and those few remaining rustling leaves seemed to enjoy that famous Christmas song, which continued to echoing through the air. But the trees had their own voices, Lelouch heard whispering and humming both distant and near. Those forests were alive and pretty talkative, willing to share their dark, sad thoughts filled with aged sorrows and forgotten longings. _

_It didn´t take a lot of time for him to lose his hardly build patience. Luckily he still had his fluttering courage, which prevented him from loosing his mind and running away screaming like Shirley with broken nail or Cratchit after his famous eye-to-eye meeting with local bag lady and her crowd of stray cats ("**Cats really seem to hate him...He had to have some crazy pheromones, I suppose"**). Yes, cold dead bodies of chivalry, courage and bravery were still inside, though patience was already on its way to heaven. _

"_I am sick of this Christmas jingles and bells! Just leave me alone already…" _

"_Nice wish you have there, buddy." said high squeaky voice, somewhere under his feet. Lelouch looked down and screamed (yes his terrified yell surely would make Shirley jealous and Mr. Cratchit would without doubts switch his job in a matter of seconds. He probably should do that years ago, but getting job is pretty hard task these days anyway.). _

"_Oh shit a rat, and a talking one, die, die, die, you filthy creature, plague on your head!" Shrieked Lelouch in vain attempt to smash animal´s head with his slippers. _

"_I beg your pardon, young man. That´s rather disgraceful from you…" the creature snapped on him, then it sat on its hind legs and reached out one hairy paw. _

"_Let´s introduce ourselves like properly raised gentlemen." _

_Lelouch shivered in disgust and climbed on nearby mossy rock….or at least he tried to climb on it. To be honest and fair, he heroically fell four times, before he gave up. _

"_Eck, don´t touch me with those claws…No, don´t come any nearer. S-stay where you are and I w-won´t hurt you…" _

_Rat rolled his eyes and laughed. Have you ever heard rat´s laughter? In case, that you haven´t, imagine long fingernails of your most unpopular teacher scraping blackboard, and then add some tones of old-creaking-hinges-sound, and you´ll somehow understand how very unpleasant laugh it was. _

"_Do you have something against rodents?" asked the animal softly. _

"_No… and yes. Don´t ask. But tell me. Are you the Ghost of Christmas Future?" _

_Rat´s grey hair bristled, as if Lelouch suggested something rude. _

"_No, no I am Yorkshire rat, Diethard the-Not-So-Cunning-Claw is my name, although it was the Ghost indeed, who sent me to find you and to guide you through this forests." _

"_Guide me? Where to?" _

"_To the Ghost´s house in Dark Swamp of Miracles, obviously."_

"_And why didn´t he came to meet me personally, like the other Spirits?" asked Lelouch suspiciously. "Is he some kind of ugly warlock with warts and acne all over his monstrous ogreish face? Or is he just some coward? Does he feed upon lost little girls and boys?" _

"_Ghost of the Future things is unpredictable, he never explains himself, loves to play it save…yes, an odd and distant person he is indeed, and whole this place is his domain. Nothing happens without him knowing that. He probably knows that I´ve already found you, Mr. Lampescrooge. And besides, who can tell, where lies the blurry border of cowardice and wisdom? So, come on, follow me and don ´t get lost for God´s sake. You may find yourself wandering through the woods of uncertainty until the end of your life. In your case a day or two."_

"_Ph, at least I won´t suffer." whispered Lelouch to himself with annoyance, but he nodded and followed rat´s swishing black tail, luring him to follow its velvet shine straight towards talking and humming forest._

_But before they entered dark woods, our hero noticed big sign with a rather weird warning engraved to carved wooden board. _

"_WITH MY WARNING YOU PASS INTO THE FORESTS OF FUTURE YET TO BE, PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY_

_P.S. DON´T FEED THE TROLLS_

_P.P.S HAUNTING UNICORNS, GOLDEN PIGS AS WELL AS GOBLINS IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (FOR SPECIAL PERMISSON ASK THE BIG-BAD-WOLF-INQUISITION-SGUAD) _

_WISHING YOU A PLEASANT JOURNEY_

_SINCERELY, YOUR GHOST OF CHRISTMAS FUTURE"_

_The moon was bright and beautiful, high above his head, shining like a giant crystal pearl and for a quite long time its weak rays were the only light he could see, the only thing he could depend on. Moon and rat´s shining velvet grey fur…Their shine guided his unsure steps through the dark forest, there were bare roots and moss covered slippery rocks, almost invisible in the trickery moonlight. Lelouch stopped counting how many times his face met the ground, how many times he stumbled and fell, and he was pretty sure, that he never before felt this miserable (he perhaps did, but there wasn´t any grinning green-haired Spirit nearby, forcing him to remember). _

_Time to time he sent a rather nervous side-glance to the trees. He couldn´t help it, he was sure they´ve been followed by forest´s invisible eyes, hiding behind dark trunks and moving leaves. There was no breeze, nothing moved, just the leaves were rustling and singing in the deep darkness of the night. Suddenly he felt like little child again, simply terrified by nonexistent things that may lurk and hide in the dark._

"_Ehm, Diethard, the rat?" Asked he with exhausted voice. _

"_What´s up?" _

"_I need a break or I´ll faint and never get up again and you´ll be in serious trouble.." _

"_You don´t need it, you softie. Oh my, beating you in simple walking would be easy even for Miss Sleeping Beauty …We are already here. Take a look around." Said the animal and pointed at big house standing on a bank of bubbling swamp… no it wasn´t a mere house, house is a futile word to describe this outstanding mansion, whole made of gingerbread, chocolate bricks, jelly and molasses, sugar and marzipan. Flat caramelized roof was covered with sugar, resembling snowy blanket, which lied on a world of Present. World, Lelouch longed to see again so much ("**That world is rotten, sick hell, but at least it´s also my rotten, sick hell"** thought dark-haired young man with melancholic expression upon his tired, muddy and scratched face), that he really wanted to cry or hit something. _

_The gingerbread mansion´s doors opened slowly and easily, making no sound, as if some unnatural force had opened it from inside. _

"_He is calling us in. Come." _

_Diethard sloped down the low hill fast like hairy grey lightning, and Lelouch followed him carefully considering every step. _

"_It´s not that difficult." said our skillful Mr. Lampescrooge to himself happily, when he kept his balance for more than one minute. "Hah, I´ll probably try trapeze next time…" But as one wise head said years and years ago (through its mouth of course) "Pride comes before a fall."…_

_His foot slipped on a wet grass and he rolled down, down and down the hill and after some time of this unpleasant exercise, he landed pretty effectively face-down right before the mansion´s gingerbread-doorstep._

"_Who enters…uh falls into my domain?" asked deep voice coming from behind the door. _

"_Why did you ask, sir? You already know." Remarked Diethard, the rat and sniffed Lelouch´s unmoving frame all over and said. "I think he won´t reply you, master.." _

"_How rude…"_

"_He´s blacked out." _

"_Ah, in that case, bring him in." _

"_Wha? But ho…? Sir…I am mere rat…How can I move a human."_

"_Don´t forget, that I´m always counting on you. I´m sure, you´ll manage, he doesn´t seem to be very heavy. Good luck and pick his pockets, just for sure."_

"_Sir, he´s wearing pyjamas. No pockets…"_

"_Excellently, everything is going according to my plan." said the voice and laughed, his cruel and merciless laughter filled the air of Dark Swamp of Miracles with nasty, uncomfortable chill. Even the trees, darker then night around them, became quite, their whispering faded into the last remaining rays of moonlight._

_Rats are very skillful when they are forced to be like that and Mr. Diethard was no exception. He actually managed to drag Lelouch´s unconscious body into the gingerbread mansion and let it lie in front of the giant fireplace made of something that resembled old fruit-cakes, with burning pile of purple and black candy canes inside. That sudden heat woke poor beaten Mr. Lampescrooge up. Small cry escaped from his lips "Where´s my Aspirin, mum…? Mum? Mummy? Oh yeah, I forgot…", the world around him was still spinning around, his vision blurred and memory shattered, and he was also hungry, very hungry. He haven´t eaten for so long… _

"_And everything in this house is made of food. This must be my happy hour after all that ordeal I had to suffer." then he took a bite from nearest edible thing, content look appeared on his face…it was tasty, delicious, sweet and chocolate and nuts. _

"_Hey, stop chewing my furniture! Get of my favourite chair!" _

_A tall cloaked figure, with his head almost touching the ceiling, dressed in robes of deep- violet and black, with laces of golden yellow, clutched his arm in rough grip. Lelouch looked up to meet with stranger´s gaze, but there was none. Man´s face was hidden, just like the words of rat predicted. (**"What a hideous mask, but also ehm so comical."**)**.**_

_Lelouch stopped licking the icing from the freaky person´s armchair and stood up, still alarmed, and still feeling beaten. He just wanted to sleep, sleep and within the dreamland forget all this pain, annoying thoughts and even more irritating persons, he kept meeting. _

"_Thank you." said the masked man and loosened his grasp. _

"_Welcome to my headquarters, Mr. Lampescrooge. I hope you´ll like it here.."_

"_It´s a gingerbread-house." remarked Lelouch sheepishly. _

"_I said it´s my secret base, so I don´t want to hear any repugnances, clear? I made this world, I rule it, my word is a law, because this place is my Future. But due to some fateful coincidence it´s also your Future."_

"_Oh, therefore you suppose to be the Ghost of Christmas Future, I believe?" _

„_Future, what is it but a fairy-tale?" asked the masked figure coolly and sat down on his melting candy-armchair. „It´s bizzare, more idealistic, crazier, more miraculous than past or present, but it´s also darker, deceptive, both important and trivial, labyrinth of silent paths leading nowhere. Dead ends with dying footprints of each and every lost soul, that touched their soil. Your future may be everything you´ve ever dreamed of, as well as plain dessert of nothingness. And that´s me, my name, my token. Nothing, pure emptiness, waiting to be filled, waiting to be entrusted with some real meaning, beginning that didn´t even start to exist."_

_Lelouch dropped his gaze, a light breeze coming from open window lifted his hair and then he asked. _

„_And what I have to do here?"_

„_Don´t you remember what you read before entering this place? Enjoying your stay...And what is more enjoyable, more satisfying than working for a kind boss, who pays you well? Your life shall be your salary. Serve me for a week and then _I´ll _send you back to your present. I´ll give you back your life, hand in hand with your future."_

"_I´m not sure if I can trust someone who isn´t even willing to show me his face. How can I ever trust you?"_

_Man behind the mask laughed. "Do you think that you are in position to choose options? Leave this place and be lost or serve me and be saved. It is easy as that. Can you see the beauty of clearly explained conditions? You´ve always cherished them."_

_Lelouch narrowed his eyes. "Are those all conditions?" asked he nervously. Now he was sure, that he fell (literally) into a trap of same crazy maniac, probably retired superhero ("**At least that weird mask proves this theory right"**)_

"_Oh, I almost forgot. From this day onwards, you are my servant, you shall do anything only according to my wishes, you won´t obey any other will including that of your own. In my domain there is just one free will…Mine of course. If I say, jump off the cliff, you shall follow this order and do it without any meaningless questions…" _

"_That´s ridiculous! And and…cruel! Unfair!" yelled _Lelouch_ frantically. "I cannot agree under this kind of mad-man´s circumstances!" _

"_But you don´t have any other option, I´m afraid." Lelouch could see Ghost´s vile grin, despite his masked face, he could see it hiding behind his sweet voice, lurking in every honey covered yet threatening word. _

"_If that´s all what you wanted to say, this is your first task. Feed mine army of Ironclad flying monkeys."_

"_Okay, okay…wait, flying what? Flying Yankees? I have to travel to New York? That is a hell of a distance!" _

"_I said monkeys!"_

"_Well, I think, that´s better…."sighed Lelouch, and headed towards the exit, as if already knowing where to go. _

"_And change!" cried the Ghost behind him. "I don´t want to see that worn-out pyjamas ever again! Nothing looks more unattractive than granny´s pants on young ass…!"_

"_What?" _

"_Remember, tighter is better!"_

"_I don´t get this guy. I really don´t." murmured __Lelouch__ to himself, while buttoning his new tight black shirt with high collar. "Attractive or not, sooner or later I´m going to __suffocate._"

_Suddenly someone knocked on the door of chamber, where __Lelouch__ was changing his clothes. _

"_Leave me alone! I´ll feed them, just wait a little while, you annoying masochist." The other part of sentence fell into the uneasy whisper. _

_But despite his words, the person, who interrupted his highly treasured moment of peace, opened the door harshly and stepped in. __Lelouch__´s face reddened, sudden heath crossed his cheeks, since he was still half-naked, so he promptly covered his lower body with nearby reading lamp and turned around to confront the intruder. _

"_Have same shame! Who a…" his jaw dropped in surprise. _

_Before him stood an elderly woman with darker skin and grey hair, smiling happily and gaily, innocently like a child. _

"_Can you teach me how to love?" _she_ asked and titled her silver head to the right. _

"_WHAAT? GET OUT!"_

"_Treat older people with respect, Mr. Lampescrooge." Ghost´s voice echoed through the air. _

"_Where are you hiding….master?" asked __Lelouch__ through clinched teeth. _

"_Using my own personalized LifeCam. Don´t be mad on poor Viletta, the Witch…She was very useful subordinate, until she aged and her sharp mind weakened. And don´t hesitate, put on your pants, calm down your libido and go to work! Monkeys are starving…" _

_And this is how __Lelouch__ became a slave of an unknown man, of a Ghost of Future yet to be, a person, who never even bothered to show him his true face, a person who claimed to be a beginning before the real beginning. But toying with his newly subordinate was something totally different. A bother, the Ghost seemed to enjoy. _

* * *

><p><strong><em>Thanks and credit goes to: <em>**

**_Beatles for their song Fool on the Hill_**

**_Brave New York Yankees_**

_**And the grinning Cheshire Cat** _


	7. Chapter Away in a Pub

_**7. Away in a Pub**_

_**AN: I don´t know why, but I like writing this chapter. I want to do at least 2 another chapters till the end, though…**_

* * *

><p>"<em>Once there lived a man named Nobody, born with chains on his body and soul, living in a cage he have not created. <em>

_Once lived a man who wished to gain enough power to break free, to gain some freedom, freedom of choices, freedom to crave for his own happiness, to pursue it without hesitation or regrets. And in the end he succeeded. One day he became powerful, mighty man. But his freedom was no more. The more power he had, the more chained he was. Power means responsibility thus slavery. Those who want to be powerful, have to be prepared for life in golden cell._

_The end." said Lelouch and closed leather-covered book. He looked upon the dark cloaked silhouette sitting on giant throne-like chair, with a bored and I-want-to-kick-your-dead-cold-body-in-the-ass-and-then-barbecue-your-head-you-masked-freak glance in his sleepy violet eyes. Then he scratched one of the small wounds that adorned his forearm…a little souvenir from his short, but violent monkey taming carrier. _

_Ghost´s squadron of deadly flying monkeys was at least satisfied and full after __Lelouch´s __ enormous, self-_ _sacrificing efforts to feed them with giant slimy double-headed worms, but this cannot be told about the said heroic feeder. No, he didn ´t feel satisfied and what seemed even worse, he was starving. Gingerbread house with all its chocolate and cakes, icing and melting sugar titles, biscuits and cookies, was so tempting, but Ghost´s charm (he called it magic and charm, but it was rather tyrannical oppression of the will of another inferior and weak but still human or spiritual...__**"Who can tell now? But I´ve got a feeling that at least my scratches and bites are far too real to be called supernatural.")**__ being, prevented him from doing anything harmful to Ghost´s swamp base. To be honest, __Lelouch__ felt like a poor stray puppy being kept away from Christmas-turkey-leftovers, howling in the coldness of the holy night. _

"_Don´t eat my walls…You cannot lick the blinds…No those honey candles aren´t there to satisfy your food-needs…or any other needs…You are not hungry at all. What you feel inside of your stomach is nothing more than longing for more work …You liked those monkeys, didn´t you? You sure had a lot of fun with them." All this words, both caring and mocking, both sour and sweet, filled his brain with confusion and fear ("**I don´t really know which thoughts are mine and which are just ****artificially**** made. Now I now what it means to be brain-washed."** "No, you aren´t brain-washed, don´t confuse yourself anymore, be calm, don´t panic and everything shall be fine."). _

"_Remind me, why did I have to read this crap to you?" asked Lelouch finally and put away the old book._

"_Why? Because you wanted, of course. You wanted to make your boss happy and content, remember? I was bored, Diethard is illiterate, he´s just a rat, he don´t need to read as well as he don´t need to think, Viletta the Witch is wondering somewhere through the swamps to find a person who´ll teach her how to love…it´s Christmas time too, therefore some tale was needed, and after all I quite enjoy stories, and allegories are my most preferred ones. You didn´t like it?"_

"_No, of course not, who do you think I am? Some thousand-years-old-giant-turtle? It lacked almost everything what makes story a story! Horrible plot, flat dumb characters… where are some innovating ideas, where´s the drama, fight and thrill, an epic heart-braking ending, where are all emotions?"_

"_So you prefer stories that make you cry and suffer at the same time…Then read me a bed-time story!" demanded the Ghosts and tapped on a table with his long fabric covered fingers._

"_But I am already tired." cried Mr. Lamprescrooge, suppressing his laud yawns and scratched the place where one extremely violent monkey-baby bit him._

"_Well I am not. Take this, sit down, don´t dare to mess pages…well, I probably should order you to wash yourself before I´ve allowed you to touch my library. But what´s done is done. Now read me this one, change voices according the nature of every character and in the end I´ll answer you one question. Think of it as a reward for being a good reader. Go on and I´ll meditate…I need to create new future-strategy." Declared the Ghost and handed him another book. _

"_Okay, okay." said Lelouch and spelled the title. "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Demark. Well, at least something I can cope with." And he started to read._

_He enjoyed it, he truly did. Even that voice-changing-part was fun. But the question remained the same, during all the time he left himself fall for the magic of Shakespeare´s drama, it remained the same. It is him who is enjoying this story, or not? _

"_Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince:_

_And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!" he paused and coughed hoarsely. "I´ve probably swallowed a fly…"_

"_That´s because you open your mouth into the width of garage-doors…Miracle, that you haven´t swallowed something bigger…"_

"_I had to! The drama, sir, remember?"_

"_I don´t buy that. Continue please." _

"…_And let me speak to the yet unknowing world_

_How these things came about: so shall you hear_

_Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,_

_Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters,_

_Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause…" Lelouch dramatic, passionate speech began to fade as he started to pass out, his words turned into inarticulate mutter, his eyelids closed and then he fell asleep just as he was, sitting before the fireplace, legs-crossed with the open book lying in his lap._

"_Oh my, now I won´t enjoy the end…" said the Ghost and stood up, then he snapped his fingers above the fireplace, the fires turned blue and then they died entirely as if they never existed, consumed by Spirit´s wish. Darkness fell upon them, all forms, joined together under the magical spell of future, which may never be. Then this doubtful deceiving future embraced Lelouch ´s unconscious worn-out body and picked it up. _

"_Don´t forget about your reward." the low voice echoed through Lelouch ´s sleeping mind, like a wind…just like a breeze, and nothing more. _

"_I know." whispered sleeping young Mr. Lampescrooge, his eyelids tightening. "I…wonder…why does Future…Christmas...live in the Gingerbread house?"_

_Ghost´s deep, raw laughter filled the empty Future. _

"_Why? Everybody loves sweets…Everything looks better covered with sugar, even lie, even blood, even murder, doesn´t it?"_

"_I…no…sure." _

_Next morning found Lelouch sleeping in something very similar to a pile of hay, which was kept hidden in cold barn. Something was scratching his forehead, some little claws or nails…"Monkeys! No more monkeys!" _

_He abruptly woke up, fighting with invisible enemy, which was by all means trying to bite off his head, then he slipped and fell down the pile, and landed on rather muddy barn-ground. _

"_Good morning room-mate! I didn´t really intended to wake you up, you looked unnaturally peaceful, but Ghosts have a job for you. It sounded pretty important so prepare yourself." Said Diethard, the rat seriously, but Lelouch haven´t really listened to him. _

"_Diethard, you little chipmunk, never ever touch me like that again…no my bad…never touch me again in general, okay? I hate it."_

_The rat climbed down the pile and responded. "Do you hate all physical interaction, or just this one? Let me try something. You know, for the sake of science." And he climbed into young man´s lap and licked his nose. Lelouch screamed like fairy Banshee after being caught while committing an adultery, he shook the animal down and repeatedly smashed it with nearby standing hoe. _

"_For your own good I hope you´re dead!" claimed he happily and dropped the hoe. _

"_I sure would be." answered Diethard´s voice from behind him. "But I am magical animal, don´t forget that."_

"_Well, that´s quite an obstacle. But it´s nothing that I wouldn´t handle with some brute force!" yelled Lelouch and started to chase the rat all over the barn with a broom, knocking everything, that stood in his way of revenge down._

"_Now take this! Feel Lelouch´s final deadly blow, that I called Piercing-Requiem-of-Doom!" then he raised his broom, prepared to kill or be killed (no, in fact just kill), but before he could do anything…_

"_Stop it, you fools." _

_Lelouch´s trembling fingers dropped the broom, Diethard stopped running in circles like possessed squirrel, and both of them felt the sudden urge to hide in some common mouse-hole. In the barn´s cracked doorway there was a Ghost of Future yet to be, scary and nightmarish atmosphere surrounding his stoic figure like another transparent, invisible cloak. _

"_I smell trouble." remarked Diethard and hid behind Lelouch´s foot. "And I smell someone who haven´t washed himself since yesterday…" _

"_Leave me alone you trash-eating mammal." blurted not-so-nice-scented Mr. Lampescrooge, quite offended._

"_You are mammal too."_

"_But I don´t eat garbage and I don´t enjoy…"_

"_Shut up, both of you! You are wasting my time you pathetic excuse of underlings! I am stuck with idiots. I haven´t done anything yet, I´m mere Future and still I have to suffer your imbecile little amusements."_

"_I am sorry." murmured Diethard. _

"_Too late, I am angry already. And what is worse than making a person, who holds a Damocles sword upon your life, angry and irritated? Now, Mr. Lampescrooge, if you´ve finished trying to kill my subordinate with a broom, take this." _

_The Ghost of Future Christmas tossed little beeping technical device into Lelouch´s hands. _

"_This GPS shall guide you into a Beheaded Black Knight´s pub. There you´ll meet with someone very important, a messenger, but don´t you dare to search for him, he´ll find you."_

"_How can he find me?"_

"_Nothing is more detectable then idiocy. I am entrusting you with this task and I hope that you´ll make it well. Behave and don´t talk to strangers." said the Spirit and left the barn together with panic-stricken rat Diethard searching for hideout in Lelouch´s pants, and I-will-probably-screw-this-job-up Mr. Lampescrooge. _

_Slow moving waters, bizarre shaped cypresses and cedars, stinky mists, and bubbling noises interrupted just by annoying hum of mosquitoes, those were the Dark Swamps of Miracles in all their beauty and charm. A loud music of frog orchestra, rustling voices of countless little snakes and worms crawling through slippery and muddy layer of old leaves fallen long ago during uneasy and misleading years of Future. _

_It was still day and the sun was high, shining brightly, smiling like a clown, making the hot stifling air, even hotter and more stifling. _

_Lelouch tried to stick to the path, the GPS chose for him, but it was pretty difficult to follow it and don´t lose a track and don´t eventually fall into the moving wetland. _

"_Don´t talk to strangers, don´t do anything stupid, behave… this is silly. Who do he thinks he is? My mother? My mother is dead and she won´t come back, despite everything I can do…" _

_Sudden cracking noise made him stop and turn around, but he saw nothing, just curled shadows of trees, their known and secure shapes, although…there was something… a lurking invisible presence, he´ve been unable to recognize. He only felt it. _

"…_who…who is there? Don´t come near I read dozens of books about self-defense! Don´t make me hurt you!"_

"_A visitor! Young brave man!" _

_Some joyful scream pinned Lelouch to the ground. (**"Don´t talk to strangers"… Humbug… I mean, who cares?**). _

"_Who are you, show yourself!" _

"_Behind you…" _

_Lelouch slowly turned around and there he was…a giant figure, half mighty muscular man and half a swamp-beast with greenish skin and fish-like skin (**"Oh gosh, he´s even got gills. That´s gross"**). He reached one of his scaly hands and stroked Lelouch´s hair playfully, cheerful grin appearing on his monstrous face. Lelouch was once again speechless, but this time only for a few breathtaking and disgust-gathering moments. _

"_What the heck are you?"_

"_Oddyseus, the Giant Swamp Keeper. I am strong and handsome and wise, because I am on owl-diet these days, it´s good for brain cells. They are wisest birds, aren´t they? But wise as I am I never knew one this….I´ve been wondering all this time…"_

"_What?"(**"Okay, this one is really stupid. I´ll handle him. Just freak him out that Earth is going to crash with an asteroid next year or something similar and you´ll get rid of him in a matter of seconds, ****Lelouch****. Yeah you are so smart…"**)_

_The creature rubbed his slightly bearded chin._

"_My old good mother, Grendel, used to sing to me a lullaby, before I was old enough to swallow her and fill her place as a Swamp Keeper." _

"_What lullaby?"_

"_Hmm…Listen, my young lad…" and the creature began to half-sing and half-recite few verses of an old nursery rhyme._

_**What are little boys made of?**_

_**What are little boys made of? **_

_**Frogs and snails**_

_**And puppy-dogs' tails,**_

_**That's what little boys are made of."**_

_When he finished he scratched the back of his shapeless head. "I have been thinking. What are little boys made of?"_

"_It is only an old rhyme for kids."_

"_But I want to know. Exploring the swamps is boring already. Water, frogs, insects, heat and smell… I wish to solve this riddle…You can show me what are little boys made of… I am just curious. Is that a crime?" the creature of swamps smiled innocently. Before Lelouch could fully understand what´s going on inside of that disgusting head, Oddyseus seized his shoulders and thrust him into nest of tangled cypress-branches. _

"_Leave me alone, you fish-ass!" cried poor trapped Mr. Lampescrooge and tried to kicked him, but missed._

"_Why?" asked the creature with its slow-witted dull eyes. "I won´t hurt you. I am just curious, what´s inside of you…Frogs? Snails? Or doggy tails? Which one? Maybe everything? Let me see…" and he ripped his shirt with one long dirty nail. "Hmm…nothing under it, just the same white plain material. Hmm it´s soft…"_

"_Don´t touch me!" (**"Wake up, ****Lelouch****! Do something! Don´t just lie here like some whore! Do you remember how you played Street Fighter, when you were a kid? Remember!"**)_

"_I have to look underneath this white substance…"_

"_Eat GPS, you moron!" cried Lelouch and with all his strength he kicked the psychotic creature into the balls and then he hit his head with beeping device. Swamp Keeper screamed in pain (he never felt this kind of weird sensation before) and fear (those beeping noise made his sensitive ears cry) and then he run away leaving his riddle unsolved and his prey angry, terrified and without GPS, that would guide him._

_When the screams of Swamp Keeper faded into the distance and his hard steps were swallowed by the silence of Swamps, Lelouch heard something else, something more tolerable and comforting. Songs and laughter, so he put himself on his feet and followed those soothing peaceful voices and after few uneasy steps he´ve been knocking on the door of _Beheaded Black Knight´s pub_. The doors opened and Lelouch slipped inside, leaving the dying day-light and dreadful Swamps behind._

* * *

><p><em>Ref<em>

_Hamlet - the best play Shakespeare ever wrote (according to my not-so-profesional view)_

_Grendel of Beowulf - real Grendel was a male _

_Street Fighter game for Windows XP_

_GPS navigation device_

_and the others I´ve forgotten :)  
><em>


	8. Chapter The Seven Days of Christmas

_**8. The Seven Days of Christmas**_

_So what did you find under the Xmas tree? _

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><p>"<em>Revenge is selfish act which rises from powerlessness, broken heart and boiling anger. Every human who ever committed act of revenge, avenged his and only his disturbed peace. One cannot please the dead with more deaths, one cannot make dead happy despite everything he could do, one cannot bring them back, though his heart desires to see them, greet them, say all those things he left unsaid...revenge what it is but a child´s scream into the stormy darkness of the night? <em>

_However those feelings...anger, pity, sadness, hate came from the same source, human heart. We all have it, it beats inside of our chests...we are siblings in sorrow, children of those, who had to fight and kill and cheat and lie, offsprings of Cain, not Abel. How can you judge the broken heart, how can you comfort the soul, that cannot find its rest? You who have never felt horrors of being the one left behind?_

_Now, dear good fellows, my brothers in pain, listen to the stories of forgotten ages, from the times before the myths, before the birth of legends, listen and be afraid, because the end is always nearer than you expect. Listen well to the terrifying story of the Demon Hairdresser from Sweet Street! " _

"_Shut up, Mad Prophet! You are already tiresome. Begin to sing again or fuck off!"_

"_Yeah, Eugene is right! We want to hear some caroling!" _

_The old bard, with his head almost bald, but with beard and eyebrows hairy as a Yorkshire terrier, they were scraggly and wild, became quite and shook his head in disapproval. He really looked like some mental asylum refugee more then experienced singing minstrel. He took his beer and retired from his seat near open fireplace. _

_Lelouch closed the door behind him carefully (he didn´t want to cause any undesirable stares or questions) and looked around. _

_The inside of Beheaded Black Knight´s Pub made an impression of cozy and calm place, despite all those boozer-visitors calling for another Christmas carol or despite the lack of simple natural daylight. In that never-ending twilight a few Christmas decorations were seen, gleaming silver candles, living holies and a little pine adorned with fake crystal clear icicles probably made of plastic. Just like everything in the pub´s interior those once beautiful ornaments were also untidy and unpolished, as if hundreds of hands touched them, and their filthy fingers left their marks on them forever. But that somewhat gloomy and decayed atmosphere was also a bit charming. Lelouch liked it there, since he always favored privacy and this place literally spoke of it. _

_Walls with ages-worn tapestries as well as wooden panellings were grey, almost black because of all those ashes of hundreds fires, which filled the pub with warmth through cold swampy winters. Dark lanterns hanging from the dirty ceiling were illuminating twelve round wooden tables and long bar made from the same raw hewed wood, with a dim spooky half-light. Lelouch couldn´t see how many people were there, he just saw moving shadows of uncertain number of drinkers, mirroring like spiders or floating ripped curtains on the ash-covered walls. Quite spooky. ("**I feel like a hobbit in some old traveling inn begging for pint and landlandy´s apple pie or like my old self trying to find a shelter in motel Easy Switch Bitch after one of my numerous fights with Shirey**."). He headed to the bar, boldly, focused (only his stomach was trembling as being on some kind of digestion-strike)._

"_Hey, sir? Mister landlord?"_

_The elderly man in polka-dot apron and sleeveless shirt, which showed his once-very-well-shaped-muscles, a man with a garland of grey hair decorated his almost bare head and a huge reddish mustache making fair amount of his face unrecognizable. **("I hate mustaches. I cannot see the face! How can I deal with someone wearing on his head a bunch of foxy-red-hairs instead of a face?"**) was polishing huge beer glass with his dirty sleeve and haven´t really paid attention to his surroundings. Then he yelled cheerfully. _

"_Hey, Madie Prophie, don´t be mean! It´s Christmas time! I want to hear another one…What about a free round of golden water?" _

_This offer was met with huge acceptance and after a short while another song filled the smoky air of the pub._

_It's Christmas at ground zero  
>There's music in the air<br>The sleigh bells are ringing and the carolers are singing  
>While the air raid sirens blare<em>

_It's Christmas at ground zero_  
><em><span>The button has been pressed<span>_  
><em><span>The radio just let us know<span>_  
><em><span>That this is not a test<span>_

_Everywhere the atom bombs are dropping_  
><em><span>It's the end of all humanity<span>_  
><em><span>No more time for last-minute shopping<span>_  
><em><span>It's time to face your final destiny<span>_

„_Hey Madie you´re cheating!"_

„_I don´t . You wanted a Christmas song! Now give me a beer!"_

„_You were supposed to cheer us up, not to make us pee our pants!"_

_Lelouch cleared his throat, then he sat down on a high chair face-to-face with a landlord and tapped the table with his fingernails to make the older man acknowledge his existence. Red-mustached landlord winked._

"_Huh, when did you come here, young knight? What do you want? Looking for a princess to rescue?"_

"_I am not a knight and princesses are on the bottom of my well- designed I-care-about-list…" ("In fact, there is ME on the top if it, the second one is MR. L. E. LAMPESCROOGE and the third one is my COMPANY and then comes NUNNA side by side with my RHODODENDRON…") I just cough cough wataforsomvo…"_

"_What? I am kinda deaf you have to talk louder!"_

"_Am wataforsomvo…"_

"_WHAT?"_

"_It´s a secret, you old cabbage-head!"_

_The whole pub dropped into silence, even the bard Madie Prophie stopped arguing with other customers about the Christmas-suitability of his song. _

"_What are you boozers, staring at?"_

_Lelouch was standing on his two weak legs again, trembling in sudden temper-outbreak-hysteric-drama-king tantrum, while shouting his lungs out. _

_Suddenly he felt a hand pulling his sleeve and someone´s arms were dragging him away from the shocked and offended landlord. _

"_Sit here, then calm down and say old daddy what´s wrong." _

_Lelouch´s eyes as well as mind were clean and sound again, the pulling and dragging hands which were driving him crazy, turned into a Mad Prophet´s old claws-like fingers. _

"_Nothing´s wrong, moony. I came here…"_

"_To meet up with me…"_

"_You are just some lunatic. I am on a mission of high importance."_

"_Well I´ve got the stuff." said the crazy-man and tore down his face with his own fingers. Lelouch almost fainted, lucky enough he was still under influence of the shock from his Swamp-experience, thus he somehow survived that unpleasant sight. _

"_Huh? What the…"_

_Mad Prophet threw away remnants of his face, revealing (Lelouch gasped and gulped at the same time, what made him choke for a while) another face under them. Layer under layer, face under face, Mr. Lampescrooge-the-brave-messenger, was confused and horror-struck._

"_I am secret agent of Mr. Ghost. Jeremiah is my name and as you see I have to work undercover all the time. These boozers are the best sources of information I could ever dream of." claimed that new face, which was a lot younger then the former one. **("Just like some instant face-lift, my dear brother Schneizel underwent. Well I don´t know if he did, but he sure looks like a type to go for it."**) _

"_Well, where´s the stuff?" asked Lelouch with a low voice looking around suspiciously. He felt important again, old familiar feeling embraced him in its warm welcoming arms. _

_New young Mad Prophet Jeremiah opened a huge bag, which he kept hidden under the table and picked up small square-shaped package. _

"_And that makes 20 000 golden teeth of dragon-fleas."_

"_Never had, never heard. But thank you. Mission accomplished." said Lelouch and seized the package, and stuff it into his pocket. _

"_Well, but getting this cause me a lot of trouble. I need that money, boy." _

"_Look, dear sir undercover, I have just this one orange, I´ve found lying outside in the mud. Take it and goodbye." _

_They both stood up simultaneously. _

"_You won´t leave that easily. I want my cash and if…" said Jeremiah with threatening voice. _

"_I don´t have any of those flea-scales, I´ve told you!" _

"_In that case." noted Mad Prophet with suspiciously sadistic look on his freshly unveiled face._

"_I´ll make you pay differently." His right hand slightly touched his belt. _

_Lelouch didn´t wait for the situation to progress and run towards the entrance, which he desperately kicked open and then he vanished into the foggy night of Swamps, yelling something like:" I hate this place! I want to go home! Someone shall suffer coz of my misery!"_

"_Oh, splendid evening, my young lad…Can you help me with…"_

"_Fuck off, Oddyseus or I´ll rip you your head off with a spoon!"_

"_What happened to him?" Jeremiah shook his head in disbelief, while returning a shiny checkbook back into the little sack, hanging from his belt. "I just wanted him to fill the magical-ghostly-check on Mr. Spirit´s behalf…oh the Ghost of Christmas yet to be, you surely can pick up his subordinates…It seems to me, that you only wish to have some fun here…" Jeremiah muttered few enchanted words and then, undercover-secret-agent was no more, and the Mad Prophie replaced him on his pedestal of madness. _

_Lelouch miraculously returned to the Gingerbread Headquarters safe and sound, though not that much safe and sound as he would like to be, but at least he was still breathing and his eyesight was still more focused than not. _

"_You look pretty horrible." greeted him the words of Spirits of Future still non-existent. _

"_I need rest-shower-"_

"_Not yet! Carpets need to be shampooed…and Viletta needs to have her hair dyed again. Also give me my stamps."_

"_What?" _

"_That package from Jeremiah. You know I am huge stamps collector. Give me, give me…I looked forward for this set to come out..."_

_Lelouch just gazed in disbelief…"Stamps…my dignity…stamps…my god…"_

"_Now, you can leave…." _

_And thus the days passed, day by day, step by step, drowning into a whirlwind of misery and travail. Lelouch worked hard, harder than ever before, being only scolded by the Ghost, tormented by Viletta´s attempts to seduce him in her innocent old-lady manner or pursued by Diethard the rat, who wanted to befriend him all the time. "Peel those potatoes, warm me the bath, set the table, wash laundry, polish my spare-masks, clean mirrors, check these reports, wash my feet, entertain poor Viletta, feed Diethard!" Sleeping was something totally forbidden, and eating too ("...both are just waste of my resources, Mr. Lampescrooge" "But I´m going to die!" "In the Future, fluid and miraculous, you cannot die. But you can still suffer." "I don´t want to." "Well, tell me who wants to." "Hmm maybe Cratchit…""Don´t make me laugh, you aren´t even funny.") _

_Finally, the last day of Lelouch´s week of terror came to the end, since everything has its ending the good things as well as nightmares, and Ghost called him to his office, or rather to his fancy living room. Lelouch had a very bad feeling about this meeting as if thousands of little rat´s teeth were biting him to the ass. _

"_Mr. Lampescrooge, I have to leave for a day."_

"_Finally. The white man shall gain his freedom!" cried Lelouch victoriously._

"_Don´t be so excited, please. I have one last order, listen well: clean all my 42 secret-awesome-chambers, and by saying clean them, I mean make them clean, not just peek inside like some curious widow waiting for rich relative´s funeral and leave. But don´t you dare to enter into the 43id one, into the Chamber of Revelations…"_

"_That´s so Harry-Potter-like." _

"_Don´t interrupt my prepared speech, please. As I said…damn, now I cannot remember what I said, but don´t enter that last room and everything shall be just fine. Enter it and your future may end up totally twisted."_

_The Ghost without saying a word, lit a candle and placed its small fragile light on a table, then he watched its (or it seemed like that) illusionary dance. Silence fell upon the room, serenading both of them with its haunting tune. It was the Spirit, who broke that unearthly atmosphere with his husky voice._

„_You know, being a Ghost of something that exists before the existence itself can be sometimes tiresome…Dead eyes wishing to be alive again are watching me from the bottom of their personal hells, they voices won´t leave me alone…" sighed he and the he continued in a rather weary tone. "I need some rest, to lighten up a bit. What about to sing me a song, to caress my ears…After all didn´t you said this countless times to Suzaku Cratchit?: Employees have to do anything, anything that is expected from them, ignoring personal thoughts, feelings and other unnecessary obstacles? And I want to hear you sing…So I´m ready. Go on…" _

"_Don´t make fun of me. I cannot and I won´t sing!" refused Lelouch stubbornly. _

"_But I think you can and you will. This or monkeys-feeding…Choose and choose wisely."_

"_You know I hate you?"_

"_Hate…doesn´t have a meaning for me. You cannot hurt me, cannot move me with mere feelings… emotions what are they but a tunes and beats of unheard music, which came into existence, which is recognized, cherished or hated, just due to human bodies, hearts and senses? Without people there wouldn´t be any emotions. Good or bad, healthy or ill. I am just a Spirit. You people are the reason behind all your suffering, you are those drums on which supernatural vibe creates itself out of nothingness. Even the reality, past, present, future are the same…Without humans and their minds, bodies and souls, without their eyes and ears there would be none of them, because they would turn out to be meaningless." _

"_That´s quite sad…"_

"_I think so…but for me it´s only tiresome, and boring…that is why I want to hear a song. I am waiting…"_

"_Yes, boss." blurted Lelouch, who didn´t want to hear anything philosophical more, suddenly and started to sing. _

„_Like the clouds that sail along the endless sky  
>And roses give out their colour to the air<br>Like swans that start to sing before they die  
>I comfort you, surrounding you with care<em>

_You bear the cross of guild and of regret_  
><em><span>While my fingers seize your pale arms<span>_  
><em><span>"Hold me for the last time", I believe you said<span>_  
><em><span>Freezing thoughts won't stop me from keeping you warm<span>_

_The pulsating of the heart goes on and on and on and on_  
><em><span>Weakness becomes the king of thy being<span>_  
><em><span>When cathedrals of hope collapse<span>_  
><em><span>Pictures of thy life pass by in the last seconds<span>_  
><em><span>Never have known the meaning of life<span>_  
><em><span>Until it ends"<span>_

„_Stop it! I´ve never heard something so depressive until now. You would make Santa commit suicide!"_

„_Read my lips, boss. I-AM-FUCKING-DEPRESSED. I am sleep deprived, hungry, I feel useless, it´s like…like… constantly trying to reinvent the wheel! For example tell me why the hell had I bake that giant wedding cake? There was no wedding ceremony here!"_

"_I was bored." said the Ghost and laughed. "And it was worth that sight!" _

_And he laughed, laughed and laughed until the light of his candle faded. _

* * *

><p><em>Whom to thank today<em>

_Demon Barber of Fleet Street_

_For Those Who Are Left Behind by Autumn_

_Christmas at Ground Zero by __Weird Al __Yankovic_


	9. Chapter Sleep Well, Little Corpses

_**9. Sleep Well, Little Corpses**_

* * *

><p><em>Darkness fell upon the miraculous Swamps like a velvet black veil of mourning. Wetland changed from bright misty living almost-paradise into freaky hell full of weird voices and sounds without words, without bodies. <em>

_Lelouch was sitting before the door with huge number 43 engraved into its solid metal surface, ripping one red poinsettia petal after another. His eyes were half-lidded in concentration, his lips parted, although nothing but few weak steady breaths interrupted grave silence, which ruled the almost abandoned Gingerbread secret base. Chalet cuckoo clock hanging on the opposite wall silently counted the flow of time…midnight, one hour after midnight, two hours. Time to time a tiny little mechanical bird showed up, singing a few tones before it disappeared inside of his mechanical nest. _

"_The forbidden Door of Revelation..."Should I enter…or rather not…ignore the order…listen to the voices inside my head forcing me to open the doors…should I…shouldn´t I…if I open them, what´s gonna happen to me…I´ll be killed…I won´t be killed…enter or leave….only one´s left, therefore…" _

_He examined the last flower petal, crimson like blood, freshly shed…around his feet a pool of red scattered poinsenttias…above his head a dark cloud of doubt. _

_(**"Open and enter, the Ghost will never know, he´s in a place far, far away, he cannot see you. Do at once as you please...Listen to your own will, this time, Spirit´s enchantment is no longer active, this is your last chance to beat him…last opportunity to win…**")_

"_I shouldn´t…I won´t." whispered Lelouch to the darkness of the long corridor, but he didn´t move at all, he stayed there, leaning against the cold wall, chin on his knees, hands casually playing with withering flower petals. ("**Why not? Are you afraid? You who lead so many corporations and companies to their downfalls, you who dirtied your hands with a blood your own kin, you who wiped out everything that might prove you weak or sensitive? Scaredy-cat! Enter those damn doors, or I, voice of your reasoning will torment you forever for this!**"). Lelouch closed his eyes. ("**I can´t…leave me alone, you wicked-schizophrenia-symptoms, just leave me alone…shut up…shut up…"**) _

"_Hey, Mr. Lampescrooge, how many Christmas flowers did you destroy here? Are you aware that Ghost of the Future yet to be born won´t be very happy, since he really adored those bloody-red flowers? He´ll eat you alive, or he´ll crash you bones and make some flour for export out of them…"_

"_Diethard…I couldn´t care less, I´ve been thinking." answered Lelouch and blew the last remaining petal off his open palm. He watched it as it flew slowly and elegantly through the air before melting into the embrace of his fallen comrades, lying hopelessly on the black metallic floor as a pile of death bodies. _

"_Thinking … about composting or making a salad? Hm that sounds fine, come on let´s have some Caesar salad…I´m starving, the last thing I ate was…"_

"_Shut up I didn´t ask for that sort of information…"_

"_Hey, don´t jump into conclusions so fast…" said the rat huffily. _

"_Okay I am very cautious, about the last piece of trash you swallowed…"_

"_That´s not fair. You´ve been sarcastic again."_

"_Welcome to our world. It runs on the irony and sarcasm, fueled by cynicism and prejudiced conclusions. What am I talking about here…you are wasting my time…_

_I don´t care about the order, Diethard leave this place, for I shall boldly enter those forbidden doors." said Lelouch dramatically and stood up. His head were spinning from the sudden change of position, but he ignored it and pushed that mystery entrance open._

"_Stop! Do you have a death wish?" yelled the grey-furred animal angrily and then he plunged his little razor-sharp teeth deep into Lelouch´s ankle. The said dark-haired young man screamed, tears of pain filled his eyes, while he was pathetically hopping on one uninjured leg and yelling his lungs out….and then few things happened at once. _

_The doors opened wide by themselves, none of them touched them, none of them even tried to touch them, none of them even thought about to try that, Lelouch was jumping around in circles, his ankle bleeding: "Get off, shit, get off, get off! That huuuurts!", mechanical cuckoo bird emerged from within his mechanic home, his singing voice becoming louder and louder, Lelouch and Diethard could feel those vibrations inside of their body and then a blow of cold wind wrapped around them like a snake. Lelouch body weakened, mere standing was troublesome, he couldn´t breath, his head was spinning like crazy, Diethard´s teeth were cutting deeper and deeper into his flesh. Wind and sound, low vibrating tunes and merciless gale, blended into vertigo of pain and force, stronger than human´s (or rat´s). And then that might threw them both into the darkness behind the forbidden door. _

_Semi-darkness, illuminated by light of floating candlesticks, clocks and their dials sending creepy shine through the shadows, rococo bracket clocks and pocket watches, decimal and digital, chronometers, grandfather and pendulum and doll´s head clocks, even big Victorian train station ones….all of them flying through the twilight air, without support, freely as if having wills and minds of their own. And there side by side with clocks…mirrors, thousands of them, bronze mirrors, craved and small pocket mirrors, even big ones in beautifully ornamented frames, but all of them reflected pure nothingness. _

"_Where are we? Are we flying or falling?"_

"_Diethard, you scum! See what you´ve done? You threw us into some rabbit´s hole, or we fell from a skyscraper, but it´s just your fault! "_

"_I am afraid. Can I…can I hold your hand?" _

"_You cannot hold my hand! Your little paws aren´t able to, hey!" Lelouch felt a sudden touch of human hand caressing his __underbelly_.

"_Whahahast that?" _

"_Just me." _

"_Don´t touch me there!" _

"_I I am sorry I though, that I´ve found your finger." answered Diethard´s voice __apologetically._

"_Veeery funny."_

_The wandering hand finally found Lelouch´s palm and its trembling fingers wrapped around it desperately. _

_More and more candles began to appear around them, the darkness thinned under the spell of light, clocks were measuring the time, second by second, one cracked minute after another, though each showed it differently, but all mirrors remained empty and dull. Finally, Lelouch could see his rat-companion-in-despair again…"In the name of saint ass of Caesar, what happened to you? You are human…wh…I mean…don´t …I mean let me go." _

_Diethard obeyed, nodded and his too-much-human-like hand released Lelouch´s a-bit-crushed fingers in a blink of an eye. Man Diethard! What a different sight it was **("…however he still looks somewhat like rat, and that odd ponytail is so old-fashioned, he surely needs a hairdresser…"**) and how unnerving and weird it was too. Dealing with talking annoying little rats, which you can relatively easily dispose of and on the other hand, getting rid of big tall men with a significant chin and piercing eyes are two totally different things. _

"_I think it´s a side effect of Chamber of Revelation." _

"_Thank you very much for explanation, Mr. I-no-longer-eat-rubbish-Diethard, I figured it that for myself…"_

"_Who said I won´t eat…?" _

"_Eck? You´re serious?"_

_Diethard eyebrows frowned. "Can you let me finish? It is a side effect of falling down here. I´ve been reveled." For a while they were upside down, but before their faces could turn red and before they started to feel sick, came another blow and that minute of head-aching and stomach-swirling position passed. _

"_You mean, that before…"_

"_In my past, which is dead for so long, that I´ve almost forgotten about its existence, I was a human just like you." explained Diethard and sad smiled crossed his lips. _

"_This chamber…" _

_He added and looked upwards, where nothing but deeper darkness flew, curling and lurking in its own dirt, like some living monster. "Made me remember." _

"_But it doesn´t have…" remarked Lelouch, rubbing his aching left eye. He felt something solid and framed, something with cutting edges, inside of it, stuck under his eyelid, since_

_when that sudden wind have touched his eyes with its blow…almost as if he had a mirror shard cutting its way through his vitreous. _

"…_doesn´t have any effect on me…" he laughed. "This so called Chamber of Revelation is nothing more than a huge humb…ouch."_

_They finally landed on the bottom of that (lair? trap?), which was covered with trash, rubbish, garbage and bits and pieces of old decaying foods, oily wrappings and scattered papers. _

"_Oh damn, something supposedly broke my tailbone!" Lelouch coughed and added. "Well I mean, I presume, that I broke ending part of my vertebral column...and it hurts like crazy!"_

"_Great! Taiwanese-restaurant-lefovers! And there is more of it…and here and there…This is Christmas for you! Real Christmas!" yelled Diethard happily and began to dip through the pile of smelly garbage._

"_You rat! Let it go and let´s find an exit!"_

"_But I am hungry like a wolf…"_

"_Tsk…so do as you please, but I am going. I cannot stand this incredible smell any longer. Have fun…" _

_And so he left Diethard playing with rotting food and headed towards something what resembled a light in the end of a tunnel, with his watery eye and aching ass. _

_As he walked, step by step the surrounding started to change. Corridor first covered with hundreds of cracked mirrors ("__**I think this suppose to be some kind of psychomanteum…candles and mirrors, reflections and dim lights, its said that all of those things are set up to optimize state of trance. Mind trickery…but I don´t see any illusions, nor hard life-truths-revelations…**__") slowly changed into plain white narrow passage without any windows. Smell of __disinfectants filled __Lelouch´s__ nostrils._

"_Hospital? Why hospital?" whispered he into the silent corridor._

_Then he heard a voice, a very familiar voice, coming from behind the door on the end of white passage. "Cratchit?" he hurried and stepped inside, without thinking, he didn´t even notice, that he actually walked through the closed door again. _

_The first thing, that caught his attention wasn´t the room itself, nor the people inside of it, it was calendar standing on sickening-green table with a next-year-date printed on it. _

"_Christmas of the future days...My next Christmas, but why?"_

"_Mr. Cratchit, would you mind if I turn radio on?" _

_Suzaku shook his head and looked down as if his shoes were the most incredibly fascinating thing he´ve ever seen. _

"_I know it´s a bit inappropriate…" the older man of vague face features dressed in long white coat sighed and then he pushed the button on his CD-player. _

_Hide from the mirror, the cracks and the memories  
>Hide from your family, they won't know you now<br>For all the holes in our souls, host no thrills_

_Who you were_  
><em>Was so beautiful<em>  
><em>Remember you<em>  
><em>Who you were...<em>

_I always hoped that things could be different_  
><em>And I thought, underneath, you'd be cooler than this<em>  
><em>For all the holes in our souls, post no bills<em>

"_Hahaha sorry, Mr. Cratchit, wrong CD. Allow me..." Suzaku smiled but his smile vanished as soon as it appeared, leaving him again with that so-not-Cratchit-like strict poker face._

_It came upon the midnight clear,  
>That glorious song of old,<br>From angels bending near the earth  
>With news of joy foretold,<br>"Peace on the earth, good will to men  
>From heaven's all gracious King."<br>The world in solemn stillness lay,  
>To hear the angels sing.<em>

"_I know what you may think, young man." laughed man in white. "It´s hard to believe, that pathologist may be a religious man." _

"_I can easily believe that, sir. No…I think." he looked up. "People like you, people, confronted with death and blood, people, who know how fragile and easily destroyable human being is, has no other option, than to seek for something, that may surpass him. Some consciousness that saw more horrible things, something, that saw and knew, but still has a hope, still feels love, despite everything. Something that foolish."_

_Suzaku´s last words only Lelouch could hear, since he stood right by his employee´s side, watching in disbelief Cratchit´s sudden change. He sounded almost wise. _

"_Perhaps you are right. But let´s finish our business here. I bet that you have more duties to fulfill, being young and healthy. Ahahha." _

_Suzaku smiled again, politely but his smile died on his lips, where it was born never reaching his eyes. _

_Still through the cloven skies they come,  
>Love's banner all unfurled;<br>And still their heavenly music floats  
>Over all the weary world.<br>Above its sad and lowly plains  
>Old echoes plaintive ring,<br>And ever over its Babel sounds  
>The blessed angels sing.<em>

"_Don´t touch anything, please. We still didn´t perform the internal autopsy, but the cause of death is more than obvious, you know…" pathologist and Suzaku (with slightly shocked invisible Lelouch by his side) walked to the metallic dissection table, where some body lied, covered with white piece of cloth._

"_no one ever survived twelve stabs caused by some small sharp object, an envelope-opener probably… Take a look and then," doctor removed the cloth with one swift move of his hand, revealing the corpse underneath. Lelouch gulped and moved forward to the table, leaving faltering Mr. Cratchit behind._

"_I am 99% sure…" he murmured to himself and bended over the table. The pain vibrating in his wounded eye weakened, his palms clinched into fists and he felt something inside his brain cracking, breaking into pieces, as if the last remnants of his sanity were falling down, falling down on his own exposed without-doubts dead body. _

_He expected it, he knew what he´ll see, but despite this…watching his own corpse was…well, something unspeakable. Weird, crazy, sick, fascinating, horrible… there isn´t a word in any human language to describe how he felt. He wanted to scream, to cry, he wished to wake it up. ("Wake up, you imbecile. Please…Don´t you feel that? Open your eyes, those morons can see you naked! I, you, we cannot allow that! That´s sick, so sick…")_

_Lelouch (the living one, of course) wanted to step away, to leave, but he couldn´t. His own dead face, those small thin wounds marking the place where his heart once beat, were ("**That´s too much**..."), he looked away. _

"_Please confirm the identity of this cadaver." Suzaku gripped the cold edge of dissection table, suddenly looking very pale, little droplets of sweat were falling down his chin. Just like tears._

"_Why me, doctor?"_

"_We called his relatives, but no one came. One woman even said to us: -I don´t care about him, just dump the body somewhere and leave our family be.-_

_We need a confirmation of someone, who new this man personally. So?"_

"_Yeah that´s my…my superior…"_

"_Please talk to this voice recorder…"_

"_This dead body was once my superior, Mr. Lelouch Ebenezer Lampesrooge." said Suzaku Cratchit loudly and clearly, drops of sweat on his face already dry, only their traces remained. _

"_I don´t know if I´ll ever recover from this…" Lelouch said to himself and shivered. "But, but…" his lip trembled. "I don´t want to die! No, since I still haven´t set things right! I had to, I need time, I need future…"_

_Suzaku left the morgue and autopsy room, followed by his invisible boss, outside he leaned against the white wall and burst into half laughter and half cry. ("**Godammit, he just went nuts…**")._

„_I am sorry…I am sorry, but ..."he said through his laughing cries and suddenly he punched the wall, its plaster cracked and piece by piece, it fell off. His knuckles were covered with blood, blood on the white wall, blood on his fists._

"_I…I could not bear it anymore." his knees hit the floor, eyes filled with tears. _

„_If you did understand ... if you saw how brave, how brave...Euphie was until...until the end...Damn you...I had to avenge her..."_

„_You were avenging yourself." said Lelouch sadly. „Poor, Cratchit, you screw it up. You just ruined your life, do you know that? They´ll sure find you, arrest you, perhaps even put you to death…You always were so dum…" _

„_...she never blamed you...no...I worked, I tried and still I never had enough money to save her, but I never blamed you too, I didn´t...until...when?" he sat down on the dirty floor, holding his injured hand._

"_Do you remember our conference on Haiti? - We have to be here, so shut up and don´t bother me when I am trying to concentrate – you said. Because of that damn conference I wasn´t ... wasn´t with her, when she passed away… If I only could hold her hand just for once. If I only could say how I loved her, that she made my happy... you let her die alone...so I made you...die alone…" he looked up to the speckled dirty ceiling. "But you should be thankful. I let you die on a place you cherished most. On your precious office floor." and he laughed again, madly, desperately, almost happy. _

_Lelouch winked, he felt sudden jolt of pain stabbing through his heart, then he tried to grab Suzaku´s shoulders but failed. His hands went through the body of future Cratchit, who smiled and smiled like a lunatic before the closed door of morgue._

„_Don´t laugh like this, you idiot! Stop it! Don´t hate me! I didn´t...know. I never knew, I never listened and I never even try to listen. I was the stupid one! Hey, listen to me! Just listen, please..."his invisible form collapsed before Cratchit´s laughing face. That little mysterious object hidden under his eyelid and hurting his eye, started to move, he felt how it melts under the warm touch of shameful tears, that were running down his cheeks, falling on his hands. „Don´t...don´t be sad. I´ll…I´ll set things right! I´ll save Euphemia, I´ll save your happiness. Listen, Suzaku…I cannot change this world that endowed you with low social status, with perhaps less amount of brain cells, world that made you to work for someone like me…I cannot, since this place is a shared manifestation of milliards of minds and souls, it´s not homogeneous place with rules done and set, it´s a mosaic of millions tiny worlds, but…since our worlds exists side by side, I´m surely able to help your world…I´ll be better. I promise...I am going to help you. Yes…I´ll definitely set everything right…"_

_**Today I feel obliged to thank to the following artists:**_

_**Lewis Carrol for his great piece of fiction known as Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland **_

_**Muse for their song Razor Blades**_

_**Edmund H. Sears for his Christmas carol It came upon the Midnight Clear**_

_**Also I thank to my readers **_


	10. Chapter I Saw a Reindeer Kissing Santa

_**10. I Saw a Reindeer Kissing Santa Claus**_

* * *

><p><em>Heavy thick snow began to fall from the high and dirty ceiling of morgue corridor, turning everything into kaleidoscope of overlapping white and grey. Quiet hallway, white door and green floor...all of this melt away under the blanket of china-white snowflakes and blossoming freeze flowers. Lelouch couldn´t see anything, just blinding pure whiteness. He stood up embracing his shivering shoulders… suddenly it was cold, very cold, his hands and feet were like ice, and even the most simplest things like breathing and thinking were difficult. .<em>

_Even Suzaku vanished, his broken, crying and laughing face slowly turned into a part of long fence bordering abandoned field road, ending somewhere in snowy covered distance. Wild and lonely place and above him wide clear skies, all memories of white storm, which was raging just few moments ago, disappeared leaving him al alone by narrow road. _

"_Where am I? Where I have to go? Which way home? Shit, that broken-swamp-beasts-eliminating-GPS-of-mine would be perfectly useful now… " _

_While he was looking around and wondering what the hell should he do, he spotted two circles of light. Like two jack-o-lanterns roaming through the darkness of winter night. After they came closer, Lelouch realized that those weren´t any ghosts looking for lost souls to eat for dinner, but two lights of large, closed carriage. Old-styled coach as black as death´s cloak, silently approached along the road and stopped right before him. _

_Lelouch run up to the vehicle, happy and thankful just to see someone alive on this empty road leading to the invisible misty distance, but shortly after he stopped, his mouth open, face shocked. There were no horses attached to the carriage, only the coachman dressed in heavy overcoat was comfortably sitting on his seat decorated with nicely ornamented hammercloth, holding one whip with long lash in his right hand. His face was hidden under wide top hat. ("**Well, this is certainly odd…**")._

"_Mister Coachman? Can I, can I go in?"_

_No response, the coachman didn´t even look at him. Just his head titled to one side. Lelouch took this simple gesture as an invitation and opened the side door of carriage with his frozen trembling fingers. He looked at his stiff hands with slight concern. They hurt and surely they didn´t look well with those purple fingertips and white blood-deprived nails. He bit his lip. (**"Note for next time: If you´ll end up in some kind of parallel universe don´t forget to take whole your wardrobe with you. And some booze. Don´t forget to take some booze with you…Wonderlands aren´t those pleasant warm places as they used to be during Alice´s outbreak…"**)._

_The silent coachman suddenly spoke, his voice higher then expected, then he threw away his high hat and then a veil of long dark hair glowed into the night as if they were covered with crystal crust. _

"_Just shut up and enter already. I don´t have time to wait until you make your mind…Enter not enter…run away of not…" _

"_You´re a girl?" gasped Lelouch in surprise, even his fingers stopped to tremble for a while._

"_Ah, yes for this night only I obtained a body of a female…" answered pale girl with large eyes, which shone with an unearthly light impatiently and squeezed the whip for invisible horses, between her small fingers. _

"_Who are you?" asked Lelouch, his left foot already touching the carriage´s unstable steps. _

_Long-haired girl growled in annoyance. She looked pretty eager to continue her journey. _

"_I have no time to waste, Mr. Lampescrooge. Explanations are meaningless and futile and they would merely scare you. Step in for this is the only way how to leave this place."_

_Lelouch nodded and climbed the steps, desperately trying to ignore those dead shining eyes, which followed him through the door and into the vehicle. _

_More darkness, more cold and the scent of rotting cemetery…those were the first things he noticed when he got into the black carriage. Coach shook a bit and then it moved forward. Steady and silent were his moves as if they were flying above the snowy road and fields, but when Lelouch looked out of the window he could see empty landscape passing normally behind ragged curtain. Full moon came out from behind a wandering lone cloud. _

_Lelouch sat down on icy cold seat and looked around. He wasn´t alone, though he for some reason felt more lonely than before on that narrow field road leading to nowhere. Two passengers, a man and woman, both sitting opposite him, were slowly turning their heads towards him. _

"_Poor child, you are trembling…" said the woman, a slight touch of worry crossing her pale almost grayish face. It was full of small wrinkles, she looked old, but her voice sounded younger._

"_You know I have a son in your age..." she smiled and Lelouch laughed nervously, but since he didn´t have a slightest idea what to say, he let the woman continue._

"_He has the same dark hair as you, and he´s very handsome…Pity, that I won´t see him again." _

"_Why?" asked Lelouch, despite his will curious. _

"_He died…" said the woman and weird smile decorated her pale lips. Lelouch inhaled heavily and looked away, but the woman still talked, watching him with those horrible radiant eyes._

"_He killed himself, my pitiful poor little boy...And do you know it was me who found him? And his last words were oh you wouldn´t guess what he said…haha…he said – Curse you, mother. With his last words he cursed me and died…Died…Just like that."_

"_You are cold." interrupted the man in his early twenties, sitting beside the woman. "Here, take a coat." he added, but despite his words he didn´t move, just stared at him with the same shining unearthly eyes as the coachgirl had. _

"_I…I can manage." said Lelouch and cuddled against the seat trying to keep warm, but it was more than useless. Those leather-covered seats were as cold as everything around him, like the coach, like the air inside, like the gazes of those two pale passengers. _

"_Where are your parents?" asked the young man with the same dull voice._

"_Why…do…you…ask?" he couldn´t talk properly. _

"_Everybody has parents. It´s a curse, it´s a plague. Do you like your parents? Tell me, do your parents treat you well, are they nice?...your mother – does she hug you a lot?...your father is he kind or makes you feel miserable?" Lelouch couldn´t even think, all he felt was that horrible cold, surrounding him, lurking through his veins, freezing his heart…and suddenly he knew, suddenly he understood. (**"I have to die here. I die and this ghostly carriage shall carry me…I don´t know where…But I"**) he looked out of the window again, sadly watching the waltz of moonlight and shadow. "…I just wanted to go home." He smiled and said. "…this is what you call fate, isn´t it?"_

_Unmoving bodies, smell of decay, white faces, bloodless lips, hungry and sad gazes cold as of death itself, both of them dead, both of them rotting only those eyes were still alive… Lelouch hardly recognized them. Young man and older woman, they faces were fading. Perhaps the moon is hidden again…Perhaps the sky is falling down…Perhaps there won´t be any other morning…Perhaps darkness and emptiness is the final destiny of our world, so why not to surrender to it? It looks so easy so just give it up. Welcoming embrace of nothing, why to avoid it? What fighting for? Lelouch was so sleepy. _

_Then the coach shook once again and stopped. Lelouch felt, more then saw the sudden movement behind the dirty glass and ragged curtain, the door opened and young voice echoed through the heavy and damp air of the carriage, ripping his ears. (**"Why is she bothering me? I just want to sleep…Why won´t she just let me sleep?"**)_

"_Mr. Lampescrooge. It is time. Leave my carriage, please and go where you belong." she said, her long pearly dark hair glowing in the night._

"_Where?" Lelouch´s tongue was heavy and unmoving, as if it was already dead. _

"_Don´t ask Kaguya, the Coachman of Death such stupid things. I came to pick you up and carry you home. You´ve surely wandered far. Come on." _

_She grabbed his cold hand, but he shook his head with tired expression and the girl let him go. Kaguya saw, that he is too cold and too exhausted to be able to walk, but shortly after she smiled with childlike sweet smile._

"_The abandoned road to hell is freezing cold, isn´t it?"_

"_Empty." said Lelouch through his already blue and bloodless lips. _

"_Yes, empty." agreed Kaguya. "The road to hell is empty and alone…these two already knew and you know it too from this moment. You should never forget this snowy cold journey under the full moon…"_

_Then she turned towards the other two passengers and claimed, her voice becoming more mature and deeper. "I am taking you down to Hell. There is no other way, since the invisible ghosts of your ill deeds are covering the road, lying like a pile of cadavers under the wheels of this coach. Oh I hear those beings you´ve created, their dead throats are screaming, an unearthly melody of sadness and hate, crimes and blood. You were your own judges, mother and son you´ve let yourselves be betrayed by your blindness, by your lying hearts and minds. Relatives in hate, divided by bloodshed and selfishness, the hell you´ve already chosen is waiting for you…"_

_Lelouch didn´t hear the last words of Kaguya the Coachman of Death. Sleep and slumber were calling him, he couldn´t stand the cold anymore, couldn´t feel his body, it was heavy and he was tired, very tired. So amidst the road of Hell, inside the coach without horses, with devilish Coachman of Death by his side, he fell asleep as if there was no other morning to wake him up, and no future to fight for._

_Annoying ring of door bell woke Mr. Lampescrooge from his deep slumber, which resembled heavy state of unconsciousness, someone would say even coma. _

"_What the…where am I? What am I…" he desperately fought with the tangled nest of his bed sheets, trying to free himself, and then he fell on the floor still somehow trapped. _

_The bell rang one more time._

"_Coming!"_

_He opened the door, totally unaware of the strange state his image was in (his former self would never allow that, his former self would rather die than to be seen as someone stupid, ridiculous or immature). He had horrible bed hair, his eyes were still sleepy and half-lidded, he still had that old worn out pyjamas and fluffy slippers._

"_Eh, wild night, Mr. Lampescrooge?"_

_It was the girl with long green hair, his renter or better said his nightmare from previous night. _

"_Ghost, you are back! So you didn´t decompose into a bunch of fireflies! I am so happy! This surely deserves one celebration-welcome-to-life-kiss!"_

"_I beg your pardon? I came here with my monthly rental payment. I don´t want to…" but she never finished that sentence, because Lelouch put a deep, though little and brief kiss on her lips._

"_God damn, how I needed this. Ah and I don´t need your money, be my guest! But tell me…" he grabbed her shoulders, suddenly looking very concerned and terrified. "What time it is?" _

_Girl´s cheeks were red as burning turnips, she looked surprised, then angry, then confused and puzzled, her expressions were changing like crazy street lights, but finally she came to her senses and said._

"_11 AM." _

"_That´s great, I still have time! I can attend my dear sister´s party! You, come with me! Remember, you´re my guest!" _

_Then he ran out of his apartment, but in the middle of stairway he stopped and turned towards the green haired girl who was following him rather suspiciously._

"_Miss Green-Hair I always wanted to…Listen I…Hah I know you aren´t any ghost, she just took your form…eh, never mind…bad dream, forget it haha."_

_She gave him a pitiful I-feel-sorry-for-your-lost-mental-health-stare, but stayed there, one stair above him and listened. _

"_I should have done it long before. What is your name?"_

_She hesitated for a while then she turned away, playing with her dyed hair._

"_You don´t need to know, don´t take it personally. I don´t want to remember it either. I hate my name. I really do." _

"_Oh, come on, tell me. My own name isn´t anything to be thankful for…If you are ashamed, whisper it."_

_She turned back, her face deadly serious. _

"_Okay, okay, you are apparently mad, so no one would ever believe you. I am Cindy Crawford." _

"_Oh, so you are a model! I kissed a model! And she liked it hahaha" Lelouch started to laugh so hard, that he had to lean against the railing, since he really didn´t want to fall from somewhere again. _

"_No…" Cindy rolled her eyes. "I study rocket engineering." _

"_You do?" Lelouch stopped laughing. "That´s even better! You can help me with my magical-super-Christmas-secret-plan!"_

_He smiled on her and ran down the stairs._

"_So it´s done, he is totally nuts. Perhaps I shouldn´t sell him that pizza I found near mafia drug den. I hope none innocent pedestrian would die because of him…"_

"_Come on, let´s eat I am hungry. My stomach is on strike and because I see myself as a liberal, I have to surrender to its manifest!"_

"_Rivalz, you have to wait. The turkey isn´t ready yet." said Nunnally with a sigh and closed the oven doors again. "We had to wait, one hour should be enough." _

"_Prepare to be responsible for my starving, Miss Lampescrooge!"_

"_Is this blue shrimp bothering you, little sister?" asked Cornelia threateningly, her arms crossed, then she grabbed Rivalz´s ear and said._

"_Leave her alone and come with me…you´ll help me and Schneizel to decorate the tree…" _

"_Ouch, ouch Miss Cornelia, that hurts! Ouch I bit my fongue!"_

"_Finally you´ll be quiet for a while! _

"_We´ll fee!"_

"_Saying something, honey?"_

"_No, nefer! Hof could I?" _

„_Feliz Navidad  
>Feliz Navidad<br>Feliz Navidad  
>Prospero Ano y Felicidad.<em>

Feliz Navidad  
>Feliz Navidad<br>Feliz Navidad  
>Prospero Ano y Felicidad."<p>

_Schneizel´s voice was floating on the vibes of his Christmas mood, while his hands were carefully decorating fragile tree branches with various little garnishes. When he saw his sister and Rivalz approaching him, he smiled tenderly._

"_I love this song. When I sing it I can see it. Spanish beaches under the hot summer sun, cold drinks, hot Hawaii pizza roasting on an open fire, and hot guys from my personal volleyball team Corrida Kanons covered with sand…" _

"_Brother, did you put the lights?"_

"_Oh, I forgot." He scratched the back of his head._

"_You are so easily distracted." sighed Cornelia. "Can you take care of this brat? Give him some work to do, or there´ll be no dinner left for today." _

_Schneizel seized Rivalz´s shoulders with a wide smile and the blue-haired boy gulped heavily._

"_Let´s put on the lights. Here!" he handed him a totally knotty bunch of little Christmas lights, dozens of small entangled colorful bulbs. _

"_There are fousand of fem! Ouch…my founge."_

"_So, good luck, young lad! I´ll be watching you." And he walked away towards the kitchen, witch chuckling Cornelia by his side. _

"_Don't worry, Mr. Rivalz, we´ll help you." said Euphemia and took one tangled colorful ball into her palms, Suzaku took another and Kallen, still dressed in her reindeer-job costume, started to put down decorations. One after another, angels, stars, fake icicles, little lanterns…apples and small candies wrapped in white and red cellophane._

"_You know, lights have to come first. This is what my brother told me and his advices are almost always good…" she explained, while balancing on small stool, cup of eggnog in one of her hands._

"_I am not sure, if you should continue, Miss Kallen." said Suzaku, his eyes fixed and focused on colorful ball, he was trying to unravel. It was more like a puzzle then work and Suzaku always sucked at solving puzzles, but he really didn´t want to give up so easily, so he continued to struggle with those heavily knotted cables. _

"_Continue with what? Putting down decorations or drinking?" asked the reindeer-girl frowning. _

"_That second one. You were drinking since we came." _

_She frowned and shook her head. _

"_That´s none of your business, Mr. Swordsman. And besides, eggnog isn´t real alcohol…it´s for kids, see, you are right, I need a brandy!" _

_She jumped down and ran to the kitchen throwing decorations on the large sofa. "Hey, where´s the bar in this house? It´s Christmas I want to have some fun!"_

_(**"Having fun?...Barely. Kallen, are you really that naïve? Just admit it, you dumb-girl. Everything you just want is to feel that sensation again. That weird, unnerving feeling…that sad happiness, which you feel when …when you are with someone you like, when you talk with him and have fun with him…"**) she rubbed her eyes with one gloved fist. (**"I am too old to be that sentimental. I locked my feelings inside of me and they surely can stay there and die there.**")._

_Finally after an hour of waiting (and stomach growling) they all gathered around the table, covered by golden cloth and decorated with fake snow. _

"_So, let´s make a toast. Nunnally, it´s your house, therefore this honor belongs to you this year." said Cornelia, grabbing the nearby glass. _

_Nunnally stood up, took a glass of red wine, but before she could do or say anything, Suzaku interrupted her with a loud WOW…_

"_I…I…"_

"_Suzaku, dear, that´s not very polite…sit down."_

"_But dear I think I heard something, voices and steps….and it´s coming from the roof!" he looked around, whit enthusiasm of some little boy. "I bet it´s Santa Claus!"_

"_Mr. Cratchit, Santa isn´t real, he´s fictional character and not very well figured-out." said Shirley and tapped the table with her manicured fingernails. For some reason she looked impatient, time to time she checked her Iphone, which was lying beside her empty plate. _

"_But I heard something." said Suzaku with hurt expression._

"_Yeah sure…Wasn´t it eggnog robbing your brain?" chuckled Kallen sipping her brandy._

"_Psst. I think I heard something too." _

"_Wha…"_

"_I don´t…"_

"_I´m out of brandy…oh wine is fine.."_

"_What was…"_

"_Be quiet all of you!" cried Cornelia and stood up abruptly. "Just listen!" _

_The whole living room faded into nervous silence. And then, something happened, something really miraculous. A sudden noise inside of the chimney ("Damn, I am stuck! Elfie, help me. No no no that was too much!" "I am sorry."), then a loud thud ("Ouch, not my ass again…" "I am throwing sack!" "Not yet!" "I am sorry!") followed by giant cloud of unsettled warm ashes. And out of those still warm ciders a tall figure dressed in white and red emerged, calling merrily through his coughs._

"_Cough cough Merry Christmas, kids! Cough, Daddy is here! And he´s got presents!"_

"_It´s Santa! It´s Santa. The real one." shrieked Suzaku and run towards the Santa Claus, which was still dirty and filthy and embraced him._

"_I knew it…"_

"_Suzaku…I am chocking…" _

"_Oh, that belly isn´t real…too soft and mellow…hmm. Now I feel confused."_

"_Please, release me I have to spread Christmas mood! I am Santa Claus after all."_

"_Mr Lampescrooge!" _

_Santa sighed and put down the fake beard, then he rubbed his face to get rid of drawn wrinkles and in the end he removed his pillow-Santa-belly from underneath his red clothes. _

"_Yeah, it´s me, Suzaku, but apparently you just ruined my surprise."_

"_Brother, what were you doing inside of that chimney? Is that some kind of new advertising business strategy?" asked Schneizel, who was the first one capable of speaking. The others looked like salt statues, stiffened in various stages of surprise, disbelief and shock. Even Kallen stopped drinking her wine and blushed. _

"_No, I just…" now it was time for Lelouch to blush. "I just want to celebrate Christmas with you, guys. If you don´t mind. And I brought a guest with me. Can we…can she…can I…damn… " _

_Young company changed doubtful and suspicious stares, but then Nunnally raised her glass and said with trembling voice. "Welcome home, long lost bro..." then she laughed and took a small sip of wine._

"_Does it mean, that…" began Lelouch hopefully._

"_You can stay." said Cornelia, though the tone of her voice was still distant. _

"_Thank you. Oh wait...I have to tell…" he returned to the fireplace, pushed the hanging stockings aside, and yelled. "Use the front door, Cindy! Route through the chimney isn´t very safe!"_

"_Don´t call me by that name! And what were you thinking? I am not that retarded to climb down the chimney… "_

_Shortly after the door opened and closed again, and than the unknown green-haired girl stepped into the living room. She looked shy but bold at the same time. Nunnally offered her a seat by Shirley´s side, Cindy silently thanked her and sat down._

"_What´s inside of that sack, Mr. Lampescrooge?" asked Suzaku curiously._

"_Wait, after the dinner. And don´t you dare call me Mr. Lampescrooge ever again, okay? I am Lelouch."_

"_Oh, okay boss."_

"_I don´t want to hear that title too. So let´s eat! It smells delicious." _

_During the rest of Christmas dinner no one spoke, Lelouch and Kallen were both blushing (because of nervousness, shame or out of the alcohol overdose), Suzaku was trying to pronounce the name Lelouch and Euphemia was helping him, Cornelia´s teeth were constantly clinched together and Schneizel was smiling suspiciously, while Shirley looked distracted and Milly on the other hand, a bit devilish. The only one who was totally preoccupied with his turkey was Rivalz and he was also the first one to start new conversation._

"_You know, Lelouch, you scare me, man. And I am known at college as _Rivalz_-TheLionHeart..."_

"_Rivalz, I am sorry for crushing your well-builded self-esteem and ego but it´s Lion-Fart actually." said Milly._

„_Noo! You sure, Milly?_

„_I am surely sure. Remember that Poisoned Cabbage Scandal at college cafeteria? I found out many interesting info during my investigation."_

"_My world will never be as it was before." _

_After the dinner, all of them gathered around the Christmas tree and Lelouch stood before it and began to speak, though he was too ashamed to look upon his friends and family, so he just pretended to examine his Santa boots. _

"_I know…that you won´t believe me, but something…" his voice cracked. "…something opened my eyes and all what I want to say is, that I am sorry. My behavior during all those years was unspeakable, I hurt you all and I didn´t even realize that. So I am sorry, although I´m not asking you for forgiveness, I even don´t want an understanding from you, people. Just let me say: I am sorry. But you Shirley…" by the sound of her name, the girl looked up, surprise crossing her face. "eh look, I want to apologize. And I really mean it. Now I understand how I hurt you and I am sorry. Can you open your Heart-menu, roll down and click on the Forgiveness-file? Please?"_

"_What happened to you? You´re acting weird. Quoting Lisa Simpson all of the sudden...being almost nice... Did someone hit your head again? She…?" asked Shirley pointing her pretty finger at Cindy, who just raised her eyebrow, but said nothing. _

"_Okay…you apologized and okay I heard that apology and I´m glad for hearing it from your mouth." she smiled. "Now I can finally move forward, now I can erase the ghost of my past, which wore your face. You know I found someone new."_

_Lelouch jaw dropped. "Who?" asked Milly. "Say, say, say. Finally something new for my blog: Ashford-Graduates-Broken-Heart-Dramas! It already started to look like some cemetery."_

"_What?"_

"_Are you writing some fishy stuff about us?" _

"_Milly, how could you…?"_

"_Hey, hey I was joking okay." laughed Milly and raised her hands in pretended apology._

"_Well I met this Chinese guy, Mao, on the Star Trek Convention few months ago. He was so sweet and kind I felt as if he could hear all of my thoughts…He understands me as nobody else…" she sighed and looked out of the window, where freshly fallen snowflakes begun to gather on the flowered windowsill. _

"_Oh, that´s great." said Lelouch, thinking to himself (**"You moron, how could you expect, that she would like to date with you again? She´ll be better without you. See, how happy she is?"**)._

"_Oh brother." said Nunnally, holding her boyfriend´s hand. "I wanted to introduce my boyfriend Rolo, to you. Well this is him…" she nudged him gently. "Go on, don´t play dead fish, meet my big brother." _

_Young boy stretched his hand out and muttered some unrecognizable words, then he turned red and glanced at his girlfriend hopelessly._

"_Your brother is scary…" he whispered so "quietly" that the whole audience heard him and bursted into cascades of different types of laughing._

"_Hey that was offensive. I am not scary…from now on." _

"_Be brave, Rolo! I am counting on you." called Nunnally, taking small crescent-shaped cookie from the huge pile of sweets lying on a silver plate. _

"_I love your sister. And in the future I want to merry her." claimed brown-haired boy boldly. "Therefore, you shall become also my older brother."_

"_Oh and that idea doesn´t scare you?"_

_Rolo shook his head, but his face betrayed him. Yes, faces are treacherous, unfaithful and lying masks, and sometimes it seems as if they possess minds and hearts of their own. _

_Kallen new it too, despite the amount of alcohol, which was currently running through her veins. Her smiling face was also a lying deceptive mask, mask that didn´t disappear, refused to melt away even when Milly violently handed her a microphone of karaoke kit she brought and forced her to sing._

"_What song do you want to sing?" asked the blonde girl as if trying to generously endow her with the pitiful pieces of her own free will. _

"_I hick don´t care." _

"_Random selection, then! Selecting, selecting, selecting randomly oh yeah here sing this." _

"_What song is that?" asked Nunnally politely._

"_I don´t know, let´s listen to her…"_

"_I know you suffered („**Oh I surely did. But besides who haven´t **?)  
>But I don't want you to hide (<strong>"I am tired of hiding..."<strong>)  
>It's cold and loveless<br>I won't let you be denied ("**Denied...I will be denied...Denial, I cannot stand it. Or am I too prideful and selfish? Or am I just scared?"**)_

Soothe me  
>I'll make you feel pure<br>Trust me  
>You can be sure"<p>

_Kallen suddenly felt tears filling her blue eyes and with this watery sight she looked directly at Lelouch. ("**Trust me. I trusted you, from the bottom of my heart, though it always seemed otherwise.**")_

I want to reconcile the violence in your heart ("**But now you changed somehow."**)  
>I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask (<strong>"Mask…I wish to have the eyes, magical eyes that could see through all those words and smiles, apologies and regretful sights…Are they real? I am blind again…<strong>")  
>I want to exorcise the demons from your past ("<strong>I´m offering you a future…or is the real liar here, just my unsure heart?"<strong>)  
>I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart ("<strong>What do you want…I wonder…<strong>")

_I…I cannot continue. Hick." She grabbed the whole bottle of wine and ran out the front door of small cottage, right during the most violent storm outburst, where she started to kick up huge snowdrift. _

"_She seems to be angry for some reason." pointed out Milly._

"_And also drunk for some another reason." added Shirley with her mouth full of sugar plums._

"_I think those reasons are mutual. Like, you know, two sides of one coin." _

_Shirley nodded and both young women turned their heads towards Lelouch._

"_It´s apparently your fault." said Cornelia._

"_What do you mean? Stop looking at me like that!" _

"_You should go out and soothe her. Be a man!" said Milly with a malicious grin. _

"_Yes, be a man, bro and soooooothe her. You know…push few buttons here and there and that kicking machine should start to move by itself haahha " _

"_Rivalz, you had too much wine too." _

"_Milly, don´t take my sweet red baby from meee!"_

_Lelouch didn´t know exactly what´s the best thing to do, so he did the first one, which crossed his mind and knocked on the door of his brain. He made a cup of herbal tea and walked out the door into the snow covered front garden, where Kallen was decapitating some lonely staying snowmen. _

"_Stop staring at me you hick white Brittanian shitheads! Die!" another snowman fell to the ground defeated by the force of Kallen´s fist. Lelouch coughed to attract the drunken girl´s attention. She slowly turned around._

"_What hick…do you want here?" _

"_It´s cold outside and since I know that you don´t want to go back I came here to comfort you…" then he offered her a cup of hot tea. "Here, it´s chamomile with honey…" _

_She took the cup, but then she turned it upside down, so the hot liquid, Lelouch made, putting whole his care into the process of preparing, vanished in a puff of melting snow._

"_I don´t hick want to…drink tea…" she put her arms around his neck. "You said, that you…hick…wish to comfort me, so…don´t do it like my hick grandma Bertha…" she hugged him. "No, no comfort me like a man…"_

"_Kallen! Don´t cling to me…you are heavy…" Lelouch lost his balance and they both fell into the snowdrift. _Kallen_ chuckled_;_ her reindeer costume was already wet, because all of that melted snowflakes and cold. Lelouch raised his hand and touched her face. Why didn´t he never notice how beautiful it is? How lively and passionate it is?_

"_You´ll catch a cold in that wet clothes."_

"_Clothes…you…are…right. We have to put down our clothes…those costumes…all of this masquerade"_

"_Hey that isn´t what I meant!"_

_Kallen smiled innocently, then she started to rub and tickle his stomach. When did her hand slid underneath his red jacket, and why, why he couldn´t remember allowing it, also why it is suddenly so warm and why is Kallen´s face so pretty, when, O God, did she changed so much? Time…yes, it has to be the fault of that never-stopping, ever-changing flow of time. He stroke her hair gently, carefully. Then he noticed, how pleasant sight it was, those hair painted with blood and fire on a background of innocent white snow. _

"_You are very pretty."_

_Kallen didn´t say a thing, she just leaned down with that undying smile of hers and slowly kissed his bare neck, and when Lelouch understood that he won´t hear any answer, he just sighed heavily and let his fingers interlock behind her back, hugging her in tight almost desperate embrace.  
><em>

"_I want to know what is in that Lelouch´s sack!" said Rivalz curiously examining mysterious object._

"_And I want to know something else. What are those two doing outside?"_

_Just as expected, after hearing that his beloved Milly wished to know something, Rivalz ran to the window and looked through the curtains. _

"_I can´t see anything! The window glass is frozen!" he cried, disappointed. _

"_You amateur! Get out of my way!" yelled Milly and opened the window wide. _

"_Hey, Lelouch! What do you think you´re doing? You are a man! Go on the top!"_

"_I´m trying!"_

"_No you apparently you are not…"_

_Lelouch ´s hands fell to his sides, then he looked away._

"_Kallen, stop people are watching! We woke up the thought police…"_

"_Those…not…people…just snowmen, Lelouch. Curious snowmen…don´t mind them… I love you…I wanted to…tell you that…long ago…but it always looked as if you were…bidding me farewell…" red-haired girl rested her head on his chest and then she fell asleep. _

"_This is the last thing I´ve expected." said Rivalz watching the great sky show. _

"_I always knew that my brother is capable of the most wonderful things." agreed Nunnally massaging her boyfriends shoulders with playful smile._

"_I am looking forward to have him as a brother-in-law." said the boy and caressed her hand. _

"_It´s beautiful, Euphie, isn´t it?"_

"_I always loved fireworks…look a Catherine wheel and a Bengal fire…!"_

"_So this is why he brought that girl with him. She is apparently the technical type. Controlling all those fireworks…" _

"_Don´t be so strict, sister Corny. Just for tonight, enjoy the sight. After all it´s our brother´s Christmas gift…"_

"_Yeah, but I hope, that you don´t want from me to thank him…but for this one night, I´ll just watch." _

_An explosion of stars, waterfall of sparks and twinkles, the Christmas night turned into giant colorful tableau, wide and endless. . _

_Lelouch was standing in the archway of front door and watched his friends and family with a light smile upon his face and unsorted feelings crawling inside of his heart, when he suddenly heard small light steps echoing somewhere behind him. _

"_It´s like magic." said Kallen touching his shoulder and both of them looked up._

"_Yeah, just like magic. But I know about something even more magical."_

"_Huh?" she looked puzzled._

"_Family…" he kissed her on the forehead. "Friends." he put a small kiss on her nose. "Lovers." he pressed his lips against hers, and the last thing he saw, before he closed his eyes, was shining rain of flower petals falling from the sky reflecting in her orbs of heavenly blue. _

_The End  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>christmas carol Feliz Navidad<em>

_song Undisclosed Desires _

_AN: So this is the end, folks :)  
><em>


End file.
